{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/55836c0e-56ef-4a51-a7cc-9055cd2a39c7/69306b81042629ee0e9852a3?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"The Forgotten Revolution: Venezuela’s Democratic Spring of 1945","description":"<p>In 2025, Venezuela is once again in the crosshairs of US foreign policy, facing the threat of military intervention and heightened sanctions from a new Trump administration. But to understand the resilience of the Venezuelan people today, we must look back to a pivotal moment in their history that is often overlooked: the \"Trienio\" of 1945-1948.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Nick explores the dramatic coup of October 1945, led by young officers like Carlos Delgado Chalbaud and the democratic party Acción Democrática. We delve into how a military uprising transformed into a radical experiment in social democracy—quadrupling budgets for health and housing, eradicating malaria, and enfranchising the illiterate and women for the first time. Drawing on Keith Lowe’s&nbsp;<em>The Fear and the Freedom</em>, we ask: Why did this democratic spring terrify the elites? And how does the memory of this revolution continue to shape Venezuelan resistance to US imperialism today?</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Key Topics:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>The 1945 Coup:</strong>&nbsp;How junior officers and democrats toppled a dictatorship.</li><li><strong>The Trienio (1945-48):</strong>&nbsp;A brief golden age of literacy, health, and worker power.</li><li><strong>Oil and Sovereignty:</strong>&nbsp;The radical decision to split oil profits 50/50, setting a global precedent.</li><li><strong>Class War:</strong>&nbsp;Why the middle classes and traditional elites revolted against the \"government of espadrille-wearing peasants.\"</li><li><strong>Modern Parallels:</strong>&nbsp;US interventionism from 1945 to the Trump doctrine of 2025.</li></ul><p><strong>Books Mentioned:</strong></p><ul><li><em>The Fear and the Freedom</em>&nbsp;by Keith Lowe</li><li><em>War is a Racket</em>&nbsp;by Smedley Butler</li><li><em>The Spanish Holocaust</em>&nbsp;by Paul Preston</li></ul><p><br></p>","author_name":"Nick Shepley"}