By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) 2013–2016: PRESIDENT NICOLÁS MADURO INHERITED CRISIS When Nicolás Maduro assumed the presidency in April 2013 after Hugo Chávez’s death, he inherited a petro-state weakened by centralized power and deep dependence on oil rents. Chávez had built a welfare-populist state funded by high oil prices — but also entrenched …
By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) Overview Hugo Chávez entered office in 1999 after voters elected him to overturn the old party system. Chávez, driven, as most rulers are, by the ancient Anunnaki mindset to dominate, stormed into office and forced through a new constitution. He renamed the country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela …
THE CRISIS OF THE OLD ORDER By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) 1989-1998: INTERNATIONAL BANKERS IMPOSED AUSTERITY ON VENEZUELA, TRIGGERING CITIZEN RIOTS Venezuelans dropped the principles of the old Punto Fijo Pact order, which, like the U.S. Constitution, failed to mitigate the suffering of the underclasses. Venezuela experienced debt, inequality, and political exhaustion. Corruption, …
By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) Backstory: From 1908 to 1935, José Antonio Páez established the presidential rulership pattern, and President Gómez perfected it. President Páez ruled through charisma, cavalry, and negotiated loyalty in a fractured land. Gómez inherited a quieter battlefield and weaponized administration, prisons, and contracts. Where Páez balanced regions, Gómez crushed …
1908-1935: FROM PÁEZ TO GÓMEZ: THE STRONGMAN LINE HARDENED José Antonio Páez established the pattern. Juan Vicente Gómez perfected it. Páez ruled through charisma, cavalry, and negotiated loyalty in a fractured land. Gómez inherited a quieter battlefield and weaponized administration, prisons, and contracts. Where Páez balanced regions, Gómez crushed them. Where Páez tolerated rivals, Gómez …
By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) Transition for Readers New to This Series Spain lost Venezuela, but Spain’s power did not vanish with the empire. After independence, control condensed. Kings disappeared. Strongmen stepped forward. The collapse of Spanish rule opened a political vacuum that was not filled with partnership councils or broad civic participation. …
By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) Pre-Andean Survey, Spanish Invasion, Republican Cycles, and the New Oil Covenant I. PLEISTOCENE HUNTER PHASE (c. 16,000–10,000 BCE) Venezuela – Taima-Taima & El Jobo Hunters Mastodon hunters operate at Taima-Taima and other Falcón sites. El Jobo projectile points appear around 16,000–13,000 BP. Sitchin-student view: Pre-Cain or proto-Cainite hunting …
Comparative review of the Conservative Academic View and the Sitchin-Student Interpretation of Northern South American history from the late 1400s until the end of the wars of independence in 1825 By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) SUMMARY Conventional-Interpretation: The Spanish period marks the violent incorporation of northern South America into the Spanish Empire, restructuring …
By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) VENEZUELA PLEISTOCENE HUNTERS GROUNDS (Taima-Taima & El Jobo tradition) Archaeology: Mastodon hunters with El Jobo points ~16,000–13,000 BP in Falcón; multiple kill sites at waterholes. Anunnaki: Early arrival of PRE-CAIN OR PROTO-CAINITE HUNTER BANDS, possibly already directed by remote Anunnaki to exploit megafauna and survey resources. ORINOCO FORAGER–HORTICULTURALISTS …
VENEZUELA: WAR IS AGAIN A CAREER PATH & MAKE-BELIEVE THREATS AGAIN CURTAIL CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT By Janet Kira Lessin, CEO, World Peace Association Wars do not merely destroy nations; they construct ladders. Someone always climbs while others fall, and the higher the bodies pile, the steeper the ascent becomes for those who learn how to frame …
