Marta Harnecker is a sociologist, political scientist, journalist and activist. After studying with Louis Althusser in Paris she returned to her native Chile, but was forced into exile following the military coup against Salvador Allende’s government. In Cuba she ran the research institute Memoria Popular Latinoamerica (MEPLA) and continues to write. She has published over 60 books to date, from her classic The Basic Concepts of Historical Materialism to the more recent The Left after Seattle. An ardent defender of the Bolivarian revolution, Harnecker’s most recent books are Hugo Chávez Frias: un hombre, un pueblo; Venezuela: Militares junto al pueblo and Venezuela: una revolución sui generis. [Source: Zed Books, publisher of Rebuilding the Left (London, 2007)]
I believe that all these people, those who were given the opportunity to study, to think, to participate, to build, to decide ā and that grew enormously in terms of self-confidence and human development ā will defend the process
The maximum social forces had to be united to overthrow the dictatorship. That meant uniting not only the revolutionary classes and sectors, but also the reformist sectors and even those reactionary sectors that had even the slightest contradiction with Batista
A talk on people’s power and political instruments.
I hope that the progressive sectors and the left of the world understand what is at stake today in this country and that they form an international protective cordon around this process
From Allendeās Chile to ChĆ”vezās Venezuela
Interview on the differences between 20th and 21st century socialism and key strategic issues posed for left-wing movements today
Speech given by Marta Harnecker on August 15, 2014, accepting the 2013 Liberatorās Prize for Critical Thought
The new El Salvador government faces the challenge of deepening the pro-majority changes that have occurred, while updating the historic experiences of a fighting and conscious people seeking social transformation
When Hugo Chávez triumphed in the 1998 presidential elections, the neoliberal capitalist model was already foundering. The choice then was none other…
[Translation of an interview from Folha de São Paulo for August 28. See original here.] She defines herself as a Marxist-Leninist “popular educator.” A Chilean,…
All the latest from Z, directly to your inbox.
Institute for Social and Cultural Communications, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit.
Our EIN# is #22-2959506. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.
We do not accept funding from advertising or corporate sponsors.Ā We rely on donors like you to do our work.
We’re glad you keep coming back. If Z’s work has informed, challenged, or inspired you, that’s no accident: there are no paywalls, no ads, and no billionaire owners here, and there never will be. Independent media survives because readers choose to support it.
Billionaires fund their own media. We fund ours. Help us reach 1,000 sustaining donors:
Sustainers at $9/month or more receive the digital Z Magazine.
Already a sustainer? Click here and we won’t ask again. Thank you!
Your reading count is stored only in your browser and is never sent to us.Sound is muted by default.Ā Tap š for the full experience
Critical Action is a longtime friend of Z and a music and storytelling project grounded in liberation, solidarity, and resistance to authoritarian power. Through music, narrative, and multimedia, the project engages the same political realities and movement traditions that guide and motivate Zās work.
If this project resonates with you, you can learn more about it and find ways to support the work using the link below.
It is disappearing because platforms reward speed, outrage, and algorithmic visibility over thoughtful analysis.
More than 100,000 people read Z every month, free of paywalls, ads, and billionaire owners. It takes fewer than 1 in 100 of them to fund all of it: 1,000 donors who keep Z independent, for everyone, and build what comes next.
Sustainers at $9/month or more receive the digital Z Magazine.
Join the Z Community ā receive event invites, announcements, a Weekly Digest, and opportunities to engage.
