Machete y Mate

LeRoy, T, and friend of the show Rev are back together to discuss one thing: the growing global solidarity movement for Palestine. Rev and LeRoy discuss what they've been a part of and what they've been seeing down in Australia while T brings a US perspective. We discuss the various players and dynamics involved day in and day out in this swelling solidarity movement: from 100s of Anti-Zionist Jewish comrades, to children leading chants at rallies, to Longshoremen walking off the job.

After an extended hiatus, LeRoy and T are joined by friend of the show Rev to discuss and breakdown the recent failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum and the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Both topics are inextricably linked through the history of settler-colonial violence. We navigate the background and fallout of the failed referendum and the already apparent implications, discussing the ineptitude of liberal democracy. We end with a discussion of Palestine specifically but settler-colonialism and imperialism generally: past, present, and future.

In our latest episode, we are excited to bring to all the Macheteymatistas out there an interview with close friend and comrade Luisa Martinez. Luisa is an organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America that is running for national leadership within the organization at their upcoming national convention. We start our conversation off with Luisa's own personal background early life growing up in South Florida. Luisa shares with us her background as an organizer and what brought her to the place she is today running for leadership in the largest socialist organization in the United States. She proceeds to give us a break down of DSA's most recent delegation to Brazil for the annual São Paulo forum meeting held this year in Brasília. This meeting was the first in which DSA was invited to observe and attend some of their workshops. Luisa also discusses with us the time she was able to spend in São Paulo with the Landless Workers' Movement and what lessons she believes can be brought back to the movement in the United States. We round out the conversation with a deeper dive on her campaign for DSA leadership and what exactly she believes she can help bring to DSA's National Political Committee. To support Luisa and her campaign, we encourage you all to check out more of Luisa and her work on her twitter @LuisaKnuckles as well as her campaign statement tinyurl.com/LuisaNPC. And lastly, if you support our mission in providing reliable English-language analysis on Latin American affairs consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate where you'd also be gaining access to our Discord community, the After Dark Episodes, and Machete Minute, our triweekly news updates.

Sometimes we have nothing, sometimes we double up. In a second drop this week, Austin and LeRoy put a bow on the lead up to the Paraguayan election with a discussion of what's at stake and the ramifications of this unprecedented tight race. The final two stories are loosely a debrief of our conversation with Julian Garrido about Argentina and Ecuador. Regarding Argentina, we discuss why the Argentinean Left is in such disarray, what's next, and the character that is the odious rising star that is Javier Milei. Regarding Ecuador, we talk about Lasso's isolation andthe systemic issues and contradictions that exist for an effective Revolucion Ciudadana. If you support what we do and want to support the cause consider showing your solidarity at patreon.com/macheteymate.

In our latest episode, we are excited to bring to all the Macheteymatistas out there a fascinating discussion on South American politics with Quito-based political strategist Julián Garrido. We start off in Ecuador which has undergone serious political turmoil in the last couple months as embattled incumbent President Guillermo Lasso's impeachment continues to look imminent. Julián brings us his on the ground perspective in Quito as he discusses with us the root causes of the current crisis in Ecuador and the failure of the incumbent Lasso presidency as well as the previous Moreno presidency. He helps us break down what the future could look like in Ecuador whether that future includes Lasso being removed from office or if Ecuador is able to hold early elections which could be promising for the Correístas. We continue our discussion with Julián as we also pick his brain a bit on his own homeland of Argentina and what the general election in October could look like. We talk a bit about the rise of the far-right in Argentina through presidential candidate Javier Milei and what Julián views as Milei's chances for victory in October. We continue with a discussion on the future of the Argentine left amidst the continued advances from the right-wing. For more of Julián's insightful analysis, we encourage you all to check out more of Julián and his work on his twitter @JulianGarrido97. And lastly, if you support our mission in providing reliable English-language analysis on Latin American affairs consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate where you'd also be gaining access to our Discord community, the After Dark Episodes, and Machete Minute, our triweekly news updates.

We're back this week with another Current Events episode and the whole team is together! This week we preview the impending and consequential elections in Paraguay and Guatemala. LeRoy leads the convo surrounding Paraguay, going through the candidates, the political history, current society and what's at stake for the landlocked country. Austin leads our convo around Guatemala, setting the historical scene of present day Guatemalan society and guiding us through the ramifications of this elections. If you support what we do consider showing your solidarity at patreon.com/macheteymate. You'll gain access to Machete Minute, our triweekly news updates, along with our After Dark episodes and our discord community.

In our latest episode, we are excited to bring to all the Macheteymatistas out there an in-depth discussion on Venezuela with Venezuela Analysis' own José Luis Granados Ceja. Venezuela Analysis has long been the leader in English-language coverage of Venezuela and José Luis has been a big part of that, from writing a lot of their most recent international news reports to hosting the official Venezuela Analysis podcast. José Luis joins us in digesting the most recent developments from the ongoing negotiations between the Bolivarian government and the right-wing opposition. He helps us break down how the most recent impasse in negotiations can be traced back to the initial failure in the previous attempt at negotiations led by former Spanish President Zapatero and how this provides insight into what the overall strategy from the United States and their lackeys in the Venezuelan opposition may be. We continue our discussion with the current state of the unilateral coercive measures being imposed by the United States on Venezuela and how the Biden administration's approach to the Bolivarian nation compares to the approach of the Trump administration. We then conclude our discussion with an analysis regarding the recent improvement in relations between Colombia and Venezuela and what that could mean for the region moving forward. For more on these topics, be sure to check out the work of José Luis and his colleagues at venezuelanalysis.com. And lastly, if you support our mission in providing reliable English-language analysis on Latin American affairs consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate where you'd also be gaining access to our Discord community, the After Dark Episodes, and Machete Minute, our triweekly news updates.

In our latest emergency interview, Austin and T attempt to conduct a full interview without our traditional podcast host Leroy as we sit down with Chilean economist and returning podcast Chile expert Diego Polanco to talk about the recent spread of forest fires that have engulfed South-Central Chile. Coming straight to us from Chile, Diego breaks down for us the levels to which climate change and the legacy of capitalism in Chile have served to exacerbate these wild fires and ultimately set the stage for this disaster through the subjugation of the Indigenous peoples of the region and the introduction of mono-crop culture to Chile. We continue our discussion with the current state of the forest fires and how both the Boric government and the local municipal governments have responded. Diego then proceeds to fill us in on just what has been going in Chilean politics since the failed constitution plebiscite last year and how both the left and the right in Chile have responded. We finish off with a brief discussion regarding the Gabriel Boric presidency in general and its continued turn to the right following the failed plebiscite. If you support what we do consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate where you'd also be gaining access to our Discord community, the After Dark Episodes, and Machete Minute, our triweekly news updates.

In light of the evolving situation in Peru, we sit down with Peruvian comrade Francesca Emanuele to discuss the fall of Pedro Castillo. With incredible nuance, she breaks down the actions of the recalcitrant Right Wing congress, Castillo's ineffectiveness and incompetence, how Peru got here, and what's next for her embattled homeland. If you support what we do consider showing your solidarity at patreon.com/macheteyemate.  

On the eve of the momentous election in Brazil, we sit down with one of our favorite people, veteran of the show, and beloved Brazilian comrade, Fern. Fern takes us through what the Bozonaro presidency has meant for Brazil and what a second term would bring. He goes through and breaks down the candidate roster from Front-Runner Lula and his PT lead Left coalition down to candidates with no chance but who represent something important in this election. We go through not predictions but different scenarios we can foresee resulting from different outcomes. This is a great conversation that provides a very good and succinct overview of Brazilian society and what's at stake for its diverse population, human and otherwise. If you support what we do consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate.

This week T and LeRoy, ahead of Sunday's referendum, discuss the resulting draft from Chile's long and arduous constitutional convention. We talk about the events that lead to this seemingly miraculous moment, from the 1973 coup to the early history of the 1980 Pinochet Constitution to the nationwide uprisings in the last couple of years. We finish off by giving our predictions on what is looking like a tight result and compare and contrast with events in the US over the last few years and why they've resulted in very different outcomes in both countries. If you like what we do consider showing your solidarity on at patreon.com/macheteymate.

THE WHOLE BAND IS TOGETHER FOR THIS LATEST CURRENT EVENTS! We kick things off by discussing the tragedy in Cuba, the most significant industrial natural disaster in its history. We pivot to President-elect Petro of Colombia's inauguration, early moves, and what early predictions for Colombia and the region with a Petro/Marquez presidency. We finish off with the raid and arrest by the FBI of the former PNP governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vazquez. If you like what we do and want to support us consider showing your solidarity on our Patreon @ patreon.com/macheteymate. 

Back again, the whole team is together and joined by Australian comrade Rev. For the first half of this episode we talk with Rev about the massive election that just occurred in LeRoy's neck of the woods down under in so-called Australia. We break down the humiliation of the Australian Liberal Party as they lost their majority and what this election could mean for the left in Australia moving forward. For the second half of this episode we zero in on two very important stories. In what is likely to be our last episode before the upcoming Colombian Presidential Election we do a final review of the situation and give our personal predictions on what we think the outcome may be. And finally, we return to La Matria as we discuss the 'bipartisan' Puerto Rico Status Act recently introduced into the US House of Representatives and what this could mean for Puerto Rico. If you support what we do and want to help us grow consider showing your solidarity on patreon.com/macheteymate. You will gain access to our After Dark episodes, the Discord community, and our Book Club. Don't forget to follow us on our socials. #HastaLaVictoria