3242 - US Empire’s Venezuela Obsession; Milei’s Crackdown Begins w/ Timothy Gill, David Adler

It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Timothy M. Gill, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to discuss his recent book Encountering US Empire in Socialist Venezuela: The Legacy of Race, Neo-Colonialism, and Democracy Promotion. Then, she is joined by David Adler, Co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International, to discuss what has transpired since Argentinian President Milei's took power. First, Emma runs through updates on the UN’s unlikely ceasefire vote, continuing reports on Israeli war crimes, US-Venezuela relations, protests in Argentina, a mass shooting in Prague, GOP primary polling, growing challenges to union-busting in the US, and the incredible use of the MTA’s funding, before parsing through a recent CNN report on the unsurprising role Israeli Settlers play in the West Bank. Timothy Gill then joins, diving right into the developments in US-Venezuela relations, including a drawback of US sanctions and a prisoner swap, and what that means moving forward. Next, Gill steps back to walk Emma through the history of the US’ neocolonial approach to Venezuela, occurring at the beginning of a shift away from blunt displays of US power towards more subtle attempts at “Democracy Building,” like the funding and bolstering sympathetic actors and political parties. Expanding on this, Gill and Emma tackle the role of NGOs and political organizations in laundering US dollars to train long-term efforts to manipulate Venezuelan elections, and how that’s reflected by the executive branch with the eager backing of un-elected leaders, first in the wake of the coup of Hugo Chávez and more recently with their uplifting of Juan Guaidó, before parsing through the particular role of the Chávez Administration – and their opposition to the US’ global war on terror – in shifting the US stance toward Venezuela. Wrapping up, Gill explores the role of anti-imperialism as a patriotic force within Venezuela, and touches on the lingering tentacles of US neo-colonialism. David Adler then jumps right into the early action of Javier Milei’s administration in Argentina as a direct representation of his extreme anarcho-capitalist ideology and his coalition with the “Law and Order” right, including an unprecedented crackdown on peaceful protests with direct attacks on their rights and welfare as they speak out against his attacks on their rights and welfare. Adler also parses through Milei’s most recent display of hyper-neoliberalism – via a sweeping 600-article piece of legislation – before exploring the strong majority with which Milei won office, and what that means for the staunch backlash to his early actions. After expanding on the important context of massive foreign debt left by Mauricio Marcri’s Administration, David and Emma wrap up with an assessment of yesterday’s mass protests of the free-speech crackdown by Milei, and what that suggests for the future of the administration.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton and Matt Binder as they reflect on the politics of Late Night TV and the coverage of women in 2000s media, listen to Tim Pool’s newest song courtesy of DJ Danarchy, and watch Tulsi Gabbard unite islamophobia and antisemitism at TPUSA’s America Fest. The MR Crew also parses through John Fetterman’s apparent right-wing turn as he goes all in on the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and brutal US immigration policies, and Sargent Flux from the MR Chat calls in to talk SSDI reform, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Timothy's book here: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822947448/#:~:text=A%20very%20interesting%20and%20relevant,literature%20on%20US%20foreign%20policy

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