Netanyahu’s failed attempt to replace Shin Bet’s chief violates longstanding Israeli political taboos, as the apartheid state’s internal power struggle spirals to a new level of crisis while Gaza burns, writes RAMZY BAROUD
Latest editorial
Venezuela – it’s all about the oil
The oil industry made Venezuela one of the richest — and most unequal — nations in Latin America; now US hawks want to get their hands on the estimated 300 billion barrels left, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG
First lady Melania beams at a gathering of the Venezuelan American community in Florida, as Donald Trump spoke attacking Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s socialist governmment
Following the historic ban on companies profiting from children’s care, Unison Cymru calls for transparency in implementing the changes and extending the reform to create a truly national, profit-free care service, says MARK TURNER
The left must confront both far-right bigotry and the undeniable problems the exploitation of migrant workers by the ruling class creates — but there are few lessons from the global left on how to strike this balance, laments NICK WRIGHT
STEPHAN BLUM presents the evidence that wine was enjoyed by common folk, independent of upper-class celebrations and religious rituals
The series unveils uncomfortable truths about youth alienation and online radicalisation — but the real crisis lies in austerity and the absence of class consciousness in addressing young people’s disillusionment, says teacher ROBERT POOLE
Our delegation found a small but brave and bold socialist nation that has withstood imperialist machinations and poisonous slander to make impressive leaps in healthcare and women’s rights, reports VETERANS FOR PEACE
Born from my communist social worker mother’s efforts to bridge healthcare gaps, Labour’s push for home-based care now risks becoming another avenue for the US corporate takeover of the NHS, writes RICHARD CLARKE
WHATEVER you may think of US National Security Adviser John Bolton, he is at least honest about the reasons for US aggression towards Venezuela. While Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Latin America Minister Alan Duncan try to justify Britain’s craven support for US imperialism by falsely accusing President Nicolas Maduro of rigging elections, Bolton has openly stated that he wants US corporations to control and run Venezuela’s oil industry.
In other words, he wants to reverse the nationalisation of the oil industry that took place in 1976 when the then Venezuelan president Carlos Andres Perez created Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
Venezuela’s hydrocarbon boom began in 1922 when Shell discovered huge deposits of oil in the Maracaibo basin. In 1920/21, Venezuela had been a small producer exporting 100,000 barrels of oil that were worth one ninth of the country’s coffee exports over the same period. By 1926/27, annual exports were six million barrels, and by 1935/36, 23 million barrels or 20 times the value of exported coffee.
Under the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gomez, oil companies from the US and Europe were given long leases and generous tax breaks that brought them huge profits. By the end of the 1930s, Shell, Standard Oil and Gulf controlled 99 per cent of production and the state retained only between 10 and 20 per cent of the profits. Needless to say, neither the US nor British governments of the day had anything to say about the democratic deficit in Caracas.
More from this author
After brutal police crackdowns on pensioners and the forced approval of secret IMF deals, trade unions are finally responding to grassroots pressure and fighting back against savage neoliberal reforms, reports BERT SCHOUWENBURG
Global South governments’ sovereignty and ability to decide future economic policy are severely compromised by signing free trade agreements, whose terms are heavily weighted in favour of the already wealthy countries of the global North, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG
BERT SCHOUWENBURG details how the libertarian, radical-right president’s shock doctrine has pushed millions into poverty while dismantling the state and aligning with US imperialism and Israeli slaughter
The last six months have seen the self-styled ‘libertarian capitalist’ bulldoze workers’ rights and national sovereignty, as his crazed shock-doctrine economic reforms face growing resistance on the streets, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG