Red Pepper's Venezuela Blog

Venezuela, Nicaragua Propose Joint Military Force for Latin America

[Venezuelanalysis.com's Chris Carlson reports on last week's proposal by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega that Latin American countries form a joint military force to defend against outside intervention.]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega during the inauguration of a corn processing plant on Sunday. Credit: LA PRENSA

The Venezuelan Arms Build Up: Fact or Fiction?

[For Victor Figueroa-Clark, facts show the total falsity of the allegations that Chavez is engaging Venezuela in an arms build up that threatens regional peace and stability; and they also help to disclose the worrying level of anti-Chavez propaganda that is finding its way into the mainstream media. For a Spanish version of this article click here.]

New recruits for the reserves report to duty from the Caracas barrio 23 de enero. Credit: Alexander Holland/Venezuelanalysis.com

Speech by Outgoing Defense Minister Gen. Raúl Isaias Baduel “Our Model of Socialism Must Be Profoundly Democratic”

[General Raúl Isaias Baduel held a widely reported speech on the occasion of his leaving the office of Defense Minister. The event was also one in which Chavez swore in the new defense minister and a new military high command. Baduel is a long-time friend of President Chavez, who co-founded the MBR-200 with Chavez, the clandestine movement that was later to organise the 1992 coup attempt against then-president Carlos Andrés Perez. More recently, Baduel was instrumental in bringing Chavez back into office during the April 2002 coup attempt. Baduel’s speech ruffled some feathers in Venezuela because some believed that he was issuing an indirect criticism of Chavez. A more charitable interpretation, though, is that he was merely telling the country in which direction he believes 21st socialism must go.]

Be Ready For Guerrilla War Against The US, Chávez Tells Army

[The Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Rory Carroll, reports on a speech given by President Hugo Chávez to members of Venezuela's armed forces in which he told them to prepare for a guerrilla war against the United States, saying there must be a strategy to defeat the superpower if it invades. --Ed]

Venezuelan Military Spending – Busting Another Anti-Chavez Myth

[The Oil Wars blog argues that opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have often liked to imply that under his rule Venezuela is engaged in a large scale military buildup, has increased military spending, and spends more than previous Venezuelan governments and other Latin American countries have. However, a detailed look at the numbers shows that this is yet another myth. --Ed].

Article - Venezuela's new model army

Below is an interview with Venezuelan General Raul Baduel by Red Pepper editor Hilary Wainwright, who visited Caracas earlier this year for the 2006 World Social Forum. The article appears in the April edition of Red Pepper, out now.

Article - Military radicalism in Venezuela: lessons for Philippines

Walden Bello, professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and executive director of the research and advocacy institute Focus on the Global South based in Bangkok, recently visited Venezuela.