Podcast PLATZFORMA. Episode.10. Mariya Ivancheva on Chavismo, Maduro and Venezuela's turbulent present

In this episode I will be talking to Mariya Ivancheva.Maryia teaches at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, Scotland). She is a sociologist and anthropologist of higher education and labour. Her research focuses on the precarisation, digitalisation and outsourcing of academic work, and the role of university communities in large-scale processes of political and social change. She is the author of the monograph The Alternative University, lessons from Bolivarian Venezuela(Stanford UP 2023) as well as articles about Venezuelan higher education reform, left-wing students and intellectual movements, housing provision, and migration to Argentina.Mariya Ivancheva has been involved in left-wing and feminist initiatives and publications in East Central Europe like LeftEast, Levfem and the East European Left Media Outlet (ELMO).- - - -In early January, the world woke up to what may become one of the most controversial geopolitical episodes of the decade.On January 3rd, a wave of reports, leaks, and official statements began circulating about a U.S. special-forces operation in Caracas, Venezuela, that allegedly resulted in the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Later, president Donald Trump confirmed that indeed, the operation took place and justified it by describing it as a ”lawful enforcement action connected to long-standing criminal indictments”.Officials in Caracas denounced the operation as an illegal kidnapping and an act of war.In the days that followed, U.S. officials confirmed that Maduro was being held on American soil, facing charges related to drug trafficking and terrorism issued by an American court — charges he has always rejected as politically motivated.President Donald Trump went even further, declaring that the United States of America intended to “run Venezuela” during what he called a transitional period.This statement sent shockwaves through Latin America and beyond.Internationally, reactions are divided: some governments frame the events as a decisive blow against authoritarianism, others as a dangerous precedent that undermines international law.As Maduro’s legal fate unfolds in the United States, Venezuela itself stands at a crossroads — caught between external power, internal fracture, and an unknown political future.In this episode we will be talking about the recent history of Venezuela - the heritage of Hugo Chavez, who brought the United Socialist Party of Venezuela to power, the political, social and economic policies of Chavismo, the current situation in Venezuela, the future of Latin America, the attitude of the Left towards the events in Venezuela…Although the attention has shifted now to other topics - Greenland, the ongoing protests in Iran, the Davos economic forum - we think that the events in Venezuela continue to be very relevant for our discussions about US foreign policy, the fate of leftist governments in a capitalist context, about imperialism and the future of progressive politics. Our podcast was recorded via Zoom.