There are other options in Venezuela

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Pro-government supporters with an image of late President Hugo Chavez at a march in Caracas (Reuters)

As a Venezuelan who admires Zizek's work, I think I need to clarify to Zizek that he got something wrong in his new analysis of the Venezuelan crisis: there are other options. The thing is that is that they suffered from the same fate of the rest of political parties that dared to criticise any of Chavez's policies: there were branded as counter-revolutionaries, revisionists, and even fascist.

This caused many parties to keep quiet and try to work with the government, not because they supported him completely, but because they considered the best option. You have the Communist party which have been vocal about its differences with the current party in the government, the Chave'z founded Partido Socialista the Venezuela (PSUV). You also have other parties like Marea Socialista and Bandera Roja (Red Flag), originally a guerrilla movement that pacified in the 90s, the all belonged to the opposition coalition but, for one reason and other, left the coalition. Not that it matters much. The government effectively implemented a new policy in which political parties required the signatures of 0.5 per cent of the population in every state in order to receive a validation by the electoral council. None of these parties could achieve it, so they are currently illegal parties.

And no, the opposition-led coalition Mesa de la Unidad (MUD) is not let by far-right parties. The two parties that could be called far-right, Venete Venezuela (come Venezuela) and COPEI, didn't achieved legitimisation either so they don't have any homogeneous control of it, they are actually marginalised. But even with that, the majority of political parties are not far-right, they are actually social democrats. Just take a look at them. The majority are members of the International Socialist like Voluntad Popular (Popular Will), Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism), Un Nuevo Tiempo (A New Era), and Acción Democrática (Democratic Action), whose secretary general is in fact the vice president of the International Socialist. And there are other social democrats parties like Avanzada Progresista, which is actually a scion from the PSUV, which is actually quite popular.

So there are a handful of different options, but the thing is that they have sadly been successfully repressed.

But why Venezuelans don’t go with the most radical options? Because the vast majority believes that the PSUV is already the most radical option. And no only that, but that they are the ones in charge. If they stopped supported them, they would fracture and certainly the opposition coalition would rise to power. So they continue to support a party which they believe is corrupt, incompetent, and not radical, because they consider that it is the best option from a bad lot.

Gabriel Moncada Belisario
Venezuela

Only China can stop the escalation of words between Trump and North Korea

We shouldn't be surprised at the ramping up of tension over North Korea, with President Trump speaking of military action if it continues its aggressive rhetoric. The world has only pretended to address the issue, in the same disconnected way that European states glided to disaster in 1914.

North America has been preoccupied with the Trump saga, the EU with various crises affected the future of the Union, not least Brexit. Russia is busy with its own geopolitical odyssey, China with its economy, and keeping the lid on dissent.

Trump, of course, does not intend to attack North Korea, nor does North Korea intend to attack the US. But war often comes by mistake. If the British Government has any significant political influence left, it should try to ensure that Trump keeps talking to China. China must do more as an intermediary, to help avert disaster. Such a disaster would be followed by a united Korea that could eventually grow to become another Japan. It's unlikely that the ruling Chinese elite want two great pro-American powers in its neighbourhood. So it is in their interest to act now to end this crisis.

John Gemmell
Birmingham

Theresa May must condemn Trump’s verbal threats towards North Korea

The Tories and their media allies were demanding Jeremy Corbyn denounce the violence in Venezuela recently.

Donald Trump, the commander-in-chief of an army with an arsenal of 6,800 nuclear warheads, has just threatened North Korea "with fire and fury like the world has never seen”.

Never mind Venezuela, this threatens violence on altogether more alarming level. Will Theresa May – who is on hand-holding terms with the President of the US – denounce Donald Trump’s threat of nuclear armageddon?

If not – why not?

Sasha Simic
London

Those who voted for Brexit should pay for it

A recent poll told us that the over-65s predominantly voted for Brexit and that they are willing for there to be a "significant economic cost". Let that economic cost be a reduction in bloated public service pensions, a tax on company and private pensions and the removal of the triple lock on the state pension. The money raised by these measures can then pay for the Brexit divorce bill.

Let those who voted for Brexit be the ones that pay for it!

Peter Herridge
Address supplied

Hardline Tories oppose the ECJ because of workers’ rights

Right-wing Conservative animosity to the European Court of Justice can be explained by our realising that, as the court protects workers' rights, the right-wing Conservatives are the ones most likely to be up before it. Most would happily abolish the courts.

Francis Beswick
Stretford

Let’s not get too upset about stalling house prices

You say that house prices have had their “record worst rise in four years”. If I were buying a house I would think there was nothing wrong with that!

Ian Turnbull
Carlisle