Corporate Power vs. Popular Power in the Politics of Food in Venezuela

This article is an inquiry into the politics of food in Venezuela, addressing the question: What do food politics tell us about broader forms, organizations, and relations of power in Venezuela today? By digging into the past, it sheds light on the challenges and opportunities at present, examining: a) The ways in which food, through its material and symbolic power, has served as a vehicle for processes of social differentiation along lines of race, class, and gender – processes which continue to evolve into the present; b) The interplay of global and national food politics and the ways in which these connect to and play out at the level of everyday life; and c) How the contours of the Venezuelan food system have been shaped by the pushes and pulls of state, society, and capital over time, in a delicate balance of forces characterized by both deep tensions and deep ties.