The September 2010 legislative election in Venezuela, which saw the governing Untied Socalist Party (PSUV) lose its two-thirds majority, highlighted the gravity of the challenges confronting President Hugo Chavez’s “Bolivarian revolution”. The polls were a reflection of the continuing clash of contending class forces: the Chavez-led movement for a “socialism of the 21st century” and the opponents seeking to entrench a neoliberal market-oriented order.
In this intense struggle the forces ranged against the Venezuelan government enjoy the backing of powerful external elements, not least of which is the mighty United States establishment. However, as this book reveals, the US itself is now mired in economic and military debacles which are undermining its imperial drive.
It is this, along with the buildup of Venezuela's productive forces and the undimmed revolutionary fervor for a more just and equitable society, which is giving hope to the people of Venezuela and inspiration to progressives everywhere.