Trump’s escalation against Venezuela is about more than oil, it is about regaining control over the ‘natural’ zone of influence of the United States at a moment where its hegemony is slipping, argues VIJAY PRASHAD
MEXICO CITY has 16 boroughs and the the 1.8 million strong Iztapalapa is the most populous of them, also having the most radical council. It lies at the eastern end of one of the city’s metro lines and its more remote and hilly areas can be reached by the new “cablebus” service.
Its mayor Clara Brugada — re-elected last year for a second successive three-year term — is an outspoken and dynamic socialist who is leading a transformation which is an example for the entire city and indeed the country.
Brugada, whom I was able to interview in January this year, has roots in the south-eastern indigenous state of Chiapas and identifies with native culture and the migrants who make up much of Iztapalapa’s population.
A November 15 protest in Mexico – driven by a right-wing social-media operation – has been miscast as a mass uprising against President Sheinbaum. In reality, the march was small, elite-backed and part of a wider attempt to sow unrest, argues DAVID RABY
DAVID RABY reports on the progressive administration in Mexico, which continues to overcome far-left wreckers on the edges of a teaching union, the murderous violence of the cartels, the ploys of the traditional right wing, and Trump’s provocations



