Venezuela is under attack. After two decades of sanctions – which caused unimaginable economic hardship and upwards of 40,000 deaths annually in a country of 28 million – failed to snuff out the flame of the Bolivarian Revolution, the ruling class and its collaborators have continued their innate impulse towards military aggression. Soon to be stationed right outside of Venezuela, 4,500 U.S. naval soldiers and seven warships stand ready for invasion, fueled by a bloated military budget wrested from the pockets of the working class.

Domestically, the U.S. attempts to convince us, the people, that the Bolivarian project is a threat to our existence. ICE acts as a violent police force, persecuting Venezuelan immigrants with impunity to drive fear into all immigrants’ hearts. Meanwhile, the American media acts as a propaganda arm, smearing the Venezuelan government and manufacturing consent for the violation of their sovereignty by stating that Venezuela’s president is a dictator. This sort of thinking is also used to award María Corina Machado the Nobel Peace Prize even as she calls on Trump to destabilize her country. The attacks on Venezuela are a clear attempt to destroy a nation that has presented a socialist alternative to the status quo. We must ignore these unjustified claims, and instead look to the Venezuelan socialist project for inspiration.

We can especially learn from the communes developing throughout the country that are practicing direct democracy, participatory development, food sovereignty, cooperative economics, and collective trust at various levels of political organization. Venezuela has built a model that we should study as we develop our socialist project at the municipal, regional, national, and international levels.

“For me, the commune is a tool–a means for us, as working people, as fisherfolk, as pueblo, to solve our problems. We come together in assemblies and from there set our priorities: building a new wing for the school, repairing the roads … the strength of the commune is that it is not about government telling us what do – reproducing old colonial ways … communes are popular self-government, and as Chávez often said, they form the foundation of socialism … that grows from the grassroots” 
– Leonardo Pirela, member of the Afro-Descendent Palmarito Commune

DSA’s Socialists in Office (SiO) — members of the organization endorsed and elected to various levels of government — and rank-and-file members alike should be encouraged by Venezuela’s ongoing Bolivarian Revolution to develop further community organizing models, and especially to advocate for the safety and sovereignty of Venezuela’s population. Failing to do so increases the risk of further bloodshed and murder by the Trump-led imperial apparatus that has set its bloodthirsty sights on the beaches of Caracas. 

We find ourselves at a critical juncture. Growing numbers of us have become exhausted by the U.S.’s endless wars while at home we are choked by ICE raids, militarized police, and a rapidly rising cost of living. We see nothing but violence, hopelessness, and hate around us, yet, the moment is not lost. We must fight back against Trump’s warmongering and seize the opportunity to build an internationalist base in the U.S. If we stay silent—or, worse, repeat fascist lies—we betray the socialist ideal that we share with the people of Venezuela: a world without wars and exploitation, where love and liberation know no borders.