Return to Bandung Imperialism and Resistance in Mexico with Alex Aviña
In this episode, I’m joined by Alexander Aviña, historian of Mexico and associate professor of Latin American history at Arizona State University, to discuss imperialism and anti-imperialist resistance in Mexico. We discuss the long history of revolutionary struggles in Mexico, the imperial origins and present-day violence of the U.S.-Mexico border, and how Mexico’s relationship with the United States has shaped the last century of American imperialism in the Western Hemisphere—as well as how all of this has been affected by recent developments in the last decade of Mexican politics.
About the show:
Return to Bandung is hosted by Pranay Somayajula, an Indian-American writer, researcher, and organizer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work explores themes of diaspora, (inter)nationalism, anticolonial politics, and the many lives and afterlives of empire. You can learn more about Pranay and read his writing on his website, as well as on his Substack blog, culture shock.
Support Return to Bandung:
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a review or rating, and subscribe to the show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! If you’re able, please also consider supporting my work—which encompasses both my writing and this podcast, as well as various other political education projects by signing up as a paid subscriber to my Substack or making a one-off contribution:
Sources and helpful links:
The Sun Never Sets: Making Sense of Modern Empire book announcement
Pranay Somayajula — Reviving the Bandung Spirit (Socialism 2025 conference lecture)
Alexander Aviña — Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside (Oxford University Press, 2014)
Greg Grandin — America, América: A New History of the New World (Penguin, 2025)
Kelly Lytle Hernández — Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands (W.W. Norton, 2023)
Alexander Aviña — Mexico’s Long Dirty War (NACLA Report on the Americas, July 2016)
Chris Gilbert — Commune Or Nothing! Venezuela’s Communal Movement and Its Socialist Project (Monthly Review Press, 2023)
Christina Heatherton — Arise!: Global Radicalism in the Era of the Mexican Revolution (University of California Press, 2024)
José Marti — Nuestra América (El Partido Liberal, January 1891)
Social links:
Return to Bandung:
Twitter: twitter.com/returntobandung
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returntobandung/
Pranay Somayajula:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/p_somayajula
Website: https://www.pranaysomayajula.com/
Substack: https://www.culture-shock.xyz/
Alex Aviña:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alexander_Avina
Website: https://alexanderavina.com/