Hello,

As I wrote in my editorial, commentaries and news stories about Venezuela either tend to be entirely laudatory of the changes over the last several years in Venezuela, or condemnatory.

How do you feel and what do you think of the mix of coverage in the package of Peacework stories in this issue: the editorial [1], Kendra Fehrer's stories about Communal Councils [2], Daniel Hellinger's piece about the referendum [3], my piece detailing some of Chavez's more worrisome comments and actions [4], and Paula Palmer's piece, partially about indigenous struggles in Venezuela [5])?

There isn't an article in this issue about US or other transnational activism vis a vis Venezuela. Here's a place to discuss what is happening, perhaps what you're doing, and your suggestions for activism.

How can we best oppose US policy, which is designed mostly to attack economic democracy, while continuing to be critical of militarization and other politically repressive moves by regimes (including those demonized by the US government)? I think those of us in the US are most effective at opposing oppression when we stand for a single standard of human rights, criticizing US policy first, and also critiquing all governments' repressive moves. I understand that this is a controversial position.

What do you think? How do you feel? How do you deal with these dilemmas? How can we foster constructive dialogue about these topics?