Viviremos: Venezuela Vs. Hybrid War

by Claudia De La Cruz (Editor), Manolo De Los Santos (Editor), Vijay Prashad (Editor)

Ever since the Bolivarian Revolution began in Venezuela in 1998-99, the United States government - on behalf of its various allies - pursued a policy of hybrid war to undermine and destroy Bolivarianism. This hybrid war has included the unilateral, criminal sanctions regime which has been deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic; the Venezuelan people are being suffocated by a policy imposed on them. Venezuela's only provocation was to chart out a path for itself that consolidates the country's sovereignty and improves the life of the Venezuelan people. Viviremos, say the Venezuelans as they struggle to uphold their dignity, we will live.

The authors of this book chart out the character of the unilateral, criminal sanctions and offer heartfelt assessments of how this hybrid war is being prosecuted by the United States and how it is being resisted by the people. Their essays are a contribution to ending the imperialist attack on Venezuela.

Contributors: Carlos Ron, Claudia De La Cruz, Manolo De Los Santos, Vijay Prashad, Prabhat Patnaik, Ana Maldonado, Paola Estrada, Zoe PC, Samuel Moncada, Joe Sammut, Gregory Wilpert, Anya Parampil, Belén Fernández, Miguel Stédile, and George Ciccariello-Maher.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

196 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2020

Reviews

[nico flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very important resource for those who are curious about the real reason behind the suffering in Venezuela that is so often used as a propaganda tool for anticommunists. Venezuela is a prime example of how tough the fight is against imperialism and how important it is that we oppose US sanctions in all of their forms, and this book lays out perfectly the argument both against the sanctions and for the Bolivarian Revolution.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The contributions in this book are authored by 15 different people. It's a worthwhile read, but I'm not a fan of many contributors in a non-fiction read. I feel it's easier to tuck into one person's train of thought than jumping around to different people. There is some overlap as well. Having said that, if you're interested in Venezuela this book is absolutely edifying. I found the essay by Anya Parampil, "How U.S. Sanctions Enable The Theft Of Venezuela's Most Valuable Asset", offered the most encompassing and cohesive picture of the various stratagems that have been, and continue to be used to bring Venezuela in line with the demands of U.S. hegemony.

[Jacob Woocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good look at the US war against Venezuela over the last 5 or so years (starting with sanctions by Obama in 2015). A little repetitive, but it definitely makes its point about how these sanctions are literally killing tens of thousands of people and are also violations of international law in several ways. Wish there was a bit more about the nature and origins of the Bolivarian Revolution but oh well.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay imperialistic capitalism.

[Burat · Rating 5 out of 5]

extremely well edited collection of insightful essays. the introduction alone should be mandatory reading for US citizen.