Trump's Wall Will Not Stop This

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has expedited the application process for humanitarian visas, raised the minimum wage, and pledged to expand public works projects in part to help migrants whose journey came to a halt in Mexico. But many Central Americans escaping violence and poverty are still trying to find a path to the United States—the country largely responsible for destabilzing their societies. 

“The economic and trade policies that the United States has supported in Mexico and Central America have resulted in the displacement of millions of workers and economic stagnation,” wrote Alexander Main five years ago in Dissent. “The militarized drug war that the United States has promoted and funded in Mexico and Central America has further unleashed repressive, abusive security forces and undermined the civilian institutions that might hold them accountable.” A half-decade on, beneath the multiplying self-inflicted crises of the Trump era, this longstanding U.S. agenda remains largely unchanged.

Perhaps we could have a wall to keep the U.S. out of Central America and Venezuela.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) categorically opposes any and all efforts by the US government to intervene in the domestic politics of Venezuela. The US has a long and bloody track record of actions to overthrow democratically elected governments, stop the spread of socialism, and maintain US imperial dominance in the region. This includes the US government’s support of the 2002 Venezuelan coup that led to the temporary ouster of the legitimately-elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez. These imperial interventions must stop immediately; the future of the Venezuelan people, and the broader prosperity of Latin America depend on it. 

Venezuela is currently suffering devastating economic and political crises that have left millions  without consistent access to basic goods and services, and in a state of perpetual insecurity. Inflation has reached astronomical levels, rendering the local currency practically valueless, and limiting the positive impact of regular minimum wage increases implemented by the Venezuelan government. In the wake of President Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration for a second term on January 10, the political situation has become still more dire.