Current Events #61: GRAN DEBATE PUERTO RICO 2024

Leroy, T and Austin reunite to cover some of the most recent events relating to the upcoming elections in Puerto Rico and the United States. We discuss the insurgent candidacy of Juan Dalmau and la Alianza as well as what brought Puerto Rico to the brink of a political earthquake. We make our final predictions on what exactly we expect to happen in Puerto Rico as well as what the other possible outcomes may look like. If you support what we do in providing English-language content on Puerto Rican and Latin American politics subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/macheteymate.

The boys are all together to recap, analyze, discuss, pontificate, fanboy the recent Gubernatorial debate in Puerto Rico ahead of what will go down as a cataclysmic paradigm in Puerto Rico politics and reality.

After a few months off, Austin G is back to bring you a solo interview pod with previous guest and union organizer Luisa Martinez. Luisa was able to attend Venezuela's recent presidential election in person as an election observer on behalf of the Democratic Socialists of America International Committee (dsaic.org) and gives us her on the ground perspective of how the situation unfolded. Austin and Luisa go back and forth on some of the particulars of Venezuelan society, what it all means for socialists in the United States, as well as what brought us to this point and what we can look forward to in the future. You can find more of Luisa and her work on her twitter @LuisaKnuckles. If you support our mission in providing reliable English-language analysis on Latin American affairs consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate.

In this edition of MyM, we do a bit of a debrief on the recent elections in Mexico and the primaries of the comprador Pro-Statehood PNP in Puerto Rico. Austin breaks down his experience as an election observer in Mexico giving us his analysis of the ramifications of Claudia Sheinbaum's victory. Hilarity and giggling ensues as we discuss the Looney Tunes show that were these primaries in Puerto Rico and analyze what might be the fall out for the PNP and Puerto Rico in general.

After a typical hiatus, MyM is back with a Current Events episode. In this one, we preview the November elections in Puerto Rico. We dive a bit deeper into the comprador Statehood party's impending primary pitting incumbent Pedro Pierluisi, the Ted Cruz of Chuck Schumers, against Resident Commissioner and MAGA enthusiast Jenniffer Gonzalez which may very well dictate the success of the Independentist lead Left alliance.

LeRoy, T, and friend of the show Rev are back together to discuss one thing: the growing global solidarity movement for Palestine. Rev and LeRoy discuss what they've been a part of and what they've been seeing down in Australia while T brings a US perspective. We discuss the various players and dynamics involved day in and day out in this swelling solidarity movement: from 100s of Anti-Zionist Jewish comrades, to children leading chants at rallies, to Longshoremen walking off the job.

After an extended hiatus, LeRoy and T are joined by friend of the show Rev to discuss and breakdown the recent failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum and the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Both topics are inextricably linked through the history of settler-colonial violence. We navigate the background and fallout of the failed referendum and the already apparent implications, discussing the ineptitude of liberal democracy. We end with a discussion of Palestine specifically but settler-colonialism and imperialism generally: past, present, and future.

In our latest episode, we are excited to bring to all the Macheteymatistas out there an interview with close friend and comrade Luisa Martinez. Luisa is an organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America that is running for national leadership within the organization at their upcoming national convention. We start our conversation off with Luisa's own personal background early life growing up in South Florida. Luisa shares with us her background as an organizer and what brought her to the place she is today running for leadership in the largest socialist organization in the United States. She proceeds to give us a break down of DSA's most recent delegation to Brazil for the annual São Paulo forum meeting held this year in Brasília. This meeting was the first in which DSA was invited to observe and attend some of their workshops. Luisa also discusses with us the time she was able to spend in São Paulo with the Landless Workers' Movement and what lessons she believes can be brought back to the movement in the United States. We round out the conversation with a deeper dive on her campaign for DSA leadership and what exactly she believes she can help bring to DSA's National Political Committee. To support Luisa and her campaign, we encourage you all to check out more of Luisa and her work on her twitter @LuisaKnuckles as well as her campaign statement tinyurl.com/LuisaNPC. And lastly, if you support our mission in providing reliable English-language analysis on Latin American affairs consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate where you'd also be gaining access to our Discord community, the After Dark Episodes, and Machete Minute, our triweekly news updates.

After an unplanned hiatus, the MyM boys are back with a current events episode. We start by breaking down the latest with disgraced Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso and his move to nuke the legislature, call new elections, and rule by decree in the meantime. We work our way towards discussing the latest disappointing news from Chile, more of Boric paving the way for the resurgence of the Pinochetistas. We finish off by breaking down the latest US Supreme Court ruling highlighting, underscoring, stressing Puerto Rico's colonial status through what some call the New Insular cases. If you support what we do and what more frequent and better content consider showing your solidarity at Patreon.com/macheteymate.

Sometimes we have nothing, sometimes we double up. In a second drop this week, Austin and LeRoy put a bow on the lead up to the Paraguayan election with a discussion of what's at stake and the ramifications of this unprecedented tight race. The final two stories are loosely a debrief of our conversation with Julian Garrido about Argentina and Ecuador. Regarding Argentina, we discuss why the Argentinean Left is in such disarray, what's next, and the character that is the odious rising star that is Javier Milei. Regarding Ecuador, we talk about Lasso's isolation andthe systemic issues and contradictions that exist for an effective Revolucion Ciudadana. If you support what we do and want to support the cause consider showing your solidarity at patreon.com/macheteymate.