Article Subjects and Geography: Venezuela

Global South Struggles for Socialism and the Workers’ Side of Marxism

Global South Struggles for Socialism and the Workers’ Side of Marxism

by Chris Gilbert

March 1, 2026

Karl Marx originally planned to complement Capital with an additional work exploring capitalism from the side of the workers, which he never completed. In this article, Chris Gilbert argues that this projected "workers' side of Marxism" has a special relevance to the processes of anti-imperialist struggle in the Global South, explaining why they often turn to socialism despite underdeveloped productive forces and the relative scarcity of a classical proletariat.
A Special Issue on Communes in Socialist Construction

A Special Issue on Communes in Socialist Construction

by Chris Gilbert and Cira Pascual Marquina

July 1, 2025

Inspired by the Venezuelan project of building socialism via the commune, this special issue looks at attempts to use communal models in socialist projects in a range of different contexts, as well as the theoretical bases for such an endeavor. In their introduction, guest editors Chris Gilbert and Cira Pascual argue that the theme of Communes in Socialist Construction is an important opportunity for engaged Marxist reflection of a kind that offers valuable contributions to the universal body of socialist thought.
Venezuela’s Communal Project

Venezuela’s Communal Project

by Ángel Prado and Cira Pascual Marquina

July 1, 2025

Ángel Prado, a founder of El Maizal Commune and Minister of Communes since 2024, discusses Venezuela's communal project as both a response to urgent material needs and a long-term strategy for building socialism. Drawing on his experience as a grassroots organizer, he explores how communes are structured, how they relate to the state, and how they embody a vision of popular power. He also reflects on the need for unity within the Chavista movement.
Land, Cooperation, and Socialism

Land, Cooperation, and Socialism

by João Pedro Stedile, Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert

July 1, 2025

João Pedro Stedile, founder and spokesperson of Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST), reflects on the movement's efforts to build a socialist alternative through land occupations, cooperative production, and political education. He highlights the importance of collective struggle and the MST's deepening ties with Venezuela's communal movement as part of a broader project to construct a just and solidarious society.
Applying/Misapplying Gramsci’s Passive Revolution to Latin America

Applying/Misapplying Gramsci’s Passive Revolution to Latin America

by Steve Ellner

October 1, 2024

Steve Ellner deconstructs the argument that Pink Tide governments elected since 2018 are in a state of "passive revolution," having betrayed their progressive roots through concessions to conservative elements and capital. This analysis, Ellner finds, fails to capture the material impacts of Pink Tide governments, their strategic importance, or their potential to pull societies toward a more radical leftist future.

The Dream of a Thing: Refounding the Economy of a Venezuelan Commune

The Dream of a Thing: Refounding the Economy of a Venezuelan Commune

by Chris Gilbert

June 1, 2024

In a vividly drawn account of El Maizal Commune, Chris Gilbert provides readers with a window into the inner workings of a community being refounded with an eye toward building a new "alternative communal economy." The task, Gilbert finds, is one that is not only revolutionary, but liberating and creative, having the potential to collectively reimagine the social relations of a community.

Mészáros and Chávez: The Philosopher and the Llanero

Mészáros and Chávez: The Philosopher and the Llanero

by Chris Gilbert

June 1, 2022

What made István Mészáros's life so fascinating, and relevant to issues of socialist construction, was that, having seen both sides of the Cold War, he came to perceive both "real socialism" and twentieth-century capitalism as two variants of the same system. He called this the capital system. The basic commonality among most countries of both the East and the West in the twentieth century was the extraction of surplus labor from workers who did not control their own work processes.

Mészáros and Chávez: “The Point from Which to Move the World Today”

Mészáros and Chávez: “The Point from Which to Move the World Today”

by John Bellamy Foster

June 1, 2022

István Mészáros was a global thinker strongly committed to anti-imperialist struggles. In this respect, he allied himself with those fighting for socialist transformation in the Philippines, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, and elsewhere. He argued that in the descending phase of capitalism there was a "downward equalization of the rate of exploitation," by which he meant a race to the bottom in wages and working conditions, enforced by a global system of monopolistic competition.

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