Steve Ellner is an associate managing editor of Latin American Perspectives and a retired professor at the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, where he lived for over forty years. His latest book is his coedited Latin American Social Movements and Progressive Governments: Creative Tensions Between Resistance and Convergence.
Thanks to its stances on issues ranging from deportations to trade policy, the Trump administration is undermining US influence across Latin America, increasing political polarization in the region, and strengthening the hand of progressive forces there.
Donald Trump’s recent blustery foreign policy proclamations have many pundits scratching their heads. They should be seen as part of a broader project of reasserting US hegemony in the Americas and pushing back on Chinese geopolitical influence.
For years, right-wingers have sought to destabilize Venezuela, and even proclaimed their own rival “president,” Juan Guaidó. But average Venezuelans understand that US sanctions hurt them — and should be resisted.
If you want evidence that the US government doesn't actually care about drug trafficking, violation of democratic norms, violation of human rights, or widespread corruption, just look at how the Trump administration has treated Honduras versus how it has treated Venezuela.
It took Andrés Manuel López Obrador twelve years to become president-elect of Mexico. Now comes the hard part.
The Bolivarian Revolution hasn't been perfect, but it's improved the lives of millions in the face of violent opposition.