AN OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENTS FACING FOREIGN MEDDLING RAISES ISSUES THAT ARE FAR FROM ABSTRACT AND IRRELEVANT: The case of Venezuela

I received mixed comments on a recent blog piece I posted on the situation in Syria, including some unfriendly criticism, which is OK especially considering the emotional nature of the subject. Since my knowledge of the Mid East is admittedly limited, I would not have written a follow-up had it not been for the fact that the points I raised in the piece are applicable to the Pink Tide nations in Latin America, and Venezuela in particular. For that reason I would much appreciate comments on my second piece (which is sort of a response to the critical comments I got on my first post).  

The discussion very much influences my thoughts about the current situation in Venezuela. The issue is not just about a blanket rejection of imperialist intervention wherever it occurs. It's about how to evaluate governments that are putting up resistance to foreign intervention and that (as I believe to be the case of Venezuela) have some positive features but also some very negative ones (specifically, considerable corruption and lack of internal democracy within their respective political movements). In addition, how do we evaluate the support that those governments are receiving from China and Russia? And finally, does the very real problems those nations are facing and the resultant hardships feed into the TINA narrative that real change, including socialism, doesn't work and is thus a lost cause?  These are not abstract or secondary issues. They are key to determining the effectiveness of the solidarity work carried out by progressives throughout the world.

My second piece was posted on ZNET: https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/support-for-governments-under-imperialist-siege/