The Trump regime is being criticized today for failing at overthrowing the elected gov’t of Venezuela. ‘Hillary knew how to get a coup right’ is classic liberal imperialism. The Canadian gov’t no doubt shares that frustration, as one of the architects of the failed coup. (1/27) https://twitter.com/chrismurphyct/status/1290656452835713025

(The usual disclaimer here, a twitter thread cannot capture all the nuance, detail, and context. Followers of this thread are encouraged to follow the attached links and/or consult the book this account is based on. See bio for details.)

Yes, Chrystia Freeland (whose long embrace of Ukrainian fascism was the subject of a recent - attached - post) and Justin Trudeau played a central role in assembling the Lima Group, a coalition of the most right-wing regimes in the Americas, to overthrow Nicolás Maduro. (2) https://twitter.com/canadainthewrld/status/1284965185548177411

The efforts seemed to culminate in the pronouncement by wealthy, US-educated engineer, Juan Guaidó, that he was the true Venezuelan president, despite his not being elected. The ludicrous charade failed, hence today’s critique of Trump. But Canada/Freeland was key figure here.(3)

Let’s backtrack. When this story is told in mainstream North American media, it often assumes that Chávez and Maduro were/are “brutal dictators” who are responsible for a human rights disaster and that Venezuelans want to be rid of them. This is inaccurate on several levels. (4)

A short thread can’t capture the complexity, but we need to keep some things clear. Chávez didn’t create the revolution, the revolution created him. The masses rose up against poverty, corruption and injustice, built local power within their own barrios.(5) https://www.dukeupress.edu/we-created-chavez