'd my mother is from venezuela my father from france i live in paris but i left my family and my heart and caracas. i could only watch from afar as my country sank deeper into chaos and it's a way less used to be a wealthy country 40 years ago. gold brought the promise of a brighter future. ready . on january 23rd 2019 the country's fortunes appear to turn when a new largely unknown figure entered the stage asking for change when why don't we soon enjoying the support of mass demonstrations among the largest in the history of venice well a love of music yeah i got that idea that the guy is the only thing that is the other day i was growing up on the roof of the other night was. left the country 20 years ago due to threats and the security situation but now i want to be back and deeply moved upon my return as i take my 1st steps on the famous most a by carlos. plan why though has called for a mass rally and i attend with my family. for security reasons i'm headed in the trunk of his car for the journey to our interview the cation. why dell isn't easy asked dick and convinced that the end is nearing for maduro's regime i'm more skeptical but quiet though is our only hope. meant the same when they're in that story. in the history of mankind it's hard to think of a failed state with conditions like that that are not the result of a war or a more natural disaster in this asteroid they mean us on the scene as great they're being 90 percent of venezuelans live in poverty. in a country that used to be one of the wealthiest in latin america. if it weren't for the countries that sailed economic policies venezuela would have a $700000000000.00 economy today or instead it shrunk to $100000000000.00 so those who are incurious when i go mia this year. how did we fall so far i was desperately searching for the country of my childhood . place where everything seemed happier and more modern than in france the children's museum was like an enchanted them for me back then. when there was a paradise on earth you know the land full of opportunities. to say that with pride you know my grandfather was a janitor at the university hospital 30 years later his grandson has a talk today that was venezuela. 20 years ago i still believed in the promises of hugo chavez i was working as a journalist said a daily newspaper and following the presidential election campaign. on the morning of january 9th 998 i visited chavez at his home on the top floor of the building overlooking caracas in the middle class neighborhood of. the apartment was open and bright. the view of the villa mountains he seemed to have moved in only recently. chavez gave me a warm welcome and introduced me to his daughter who had just come home from school . it was in this casual personal setting that our interview got underway. chavez was no ordinary candidate a lieutenant colonel and. 6 years earlier he was the mastermind of 2 coup attempts how committed was he to democracy that was my 1st question. the caracol so was a wave of protests and social unrest that left the country deeply scarred in 1809 in february of that hearing president congress and rezko resnick agree to reforms demanded by the international monetary fund. aimed at halting the recession that had resulted from a slump and one crisis and inflation for over a week was a tense from neighborhoods rioted in the city center looting was widespread the government brought in the army. to quell the protests the exact number of fatalities remains unknown to this day 3 years later the attentive clues were a painful manifestation of a system more resembling an oligarchy than a democracy where. venezuela was controlled by 7 or 800 people politicians and union leaders. i served in 2 governments and i never saw any particular ideological orientation or whether they were right or left of center for me there was no difference in ideology. in france i got used to straightforward election campaigns where candidates presented their platforms like the 1998 presidential race in venezuela was more reminiscent of a carnival parade instead of discussing unemployment figures they were singing and dancing the aim was to win over a disenchanted people with the traditional parties in disarray all kinds of candidates threw their hat in the ring including a former miss universe. ornamental see we must have made 5 trips across the country covering all of the major cities even 101st we'd have 1015 or 20 people attending our events where charges spread his message and shared his ideas but in 1998 there were suddenly thousands of people coming out onto the streets. and a network was established with a growing number of followers and not just ordinary citizens in a what i meant the personal there were also hiring politicians meeting with child. and media moguls to offering support fire their t.v. and radio stations and newspapers. was the c. charge as was brought to power by the rich not by poor people but by businessmen and the media and most of them thought this darker skinned lieutenant colonel from bahrain us would be easier to control than the regular political parties. they thought they could use him but he ended up using them. and. we thought we were electing a democrat they said that an ideological terms he was close to former u.k. prime minister tony blair but in his heart he remained in protest and there were hints of that in our interview at the time hence that i was deaf to. go chavez was elected president for lack of viable alternatives turnout was though this is when i can be seen as a protest vote by a people desperate for a change in. charge as was not elected to lead the country for 5 years but to change the course of history as well. the preventing idea in venezuela was that history is made by military men not civilian i was it was a concept that chavez revived for he was the strongman uniform on horseback who could bring order and give us back the prosperity that had been taken away from us . tapped into then a surveillance mess down reminding them of the country's golden age in the 1950 s. the dictator marcus the wrestler menace said about modernizing venezuela with them basis infrastructure and housing programs supported by select immigration from here at. the new highway linking the capital to the coast airport was the 2nd biggest construction project in latin america after the panama canal and at this point in time venezuela was the world's 4th wealthiest country in terms of g.d.p. per capita. venezuela is a latin american nation but above all it's an oil producing one. and it's a caribbean style nation too with cheerful easy going people. then israel and pride is based on being able to a food everything the thinking is our land gives us wealth that we can do whatever we want with. the ministry. of venezuelan state is so rich that it doesn't need taxpayers' money to function. and i believe that shapes venezuelans relationship to the state. of course if everyone contributes to the funding of the state as is the case elsewhere that leads to greater cohesion. and it also gives everyone a sense of political responsibility. she says. everything is free from the day you're born. free hospitals education health care if you die you get a free burial the well they gave venezuelans a panacea for all their problems. and that's just not feasible. and not just because of the later plunge in oil prices within a few decades the population grew from 5 to 30000000 people. who. mean us right now there are about $81.00 israel has cancer all the charges amendment tourism the entire revolution since the start of the century is like one big cancer. bacterium return tickets or you have been circuit see many people still think there is some economic war going on but what kind of an economic war is it. better government owns most of the companies that produce things in venezuela. their minutes were. going. to come up were full of them all. over iraq but i think. they are in the factories but they're not producing anything everything they touch turns to. play so stenson mention maduro are chavez by name fearing reprisals and likely also due to his general anger and frustration. i. suppose could be as it often enough to keep to kill even is whale is a classic example of all the things that can go wrong in an oil producing country that is 90 percent of venezuela's income was connected to the oil industry could perhaps resulted in a huge appreciation of the national currency. but also rapid d.n.a. just realization. the industrial agricultural and services sectors were no longer profitable nor there was a dramatic increase in imported consumer goods because purchasing power in the country was artificially boosted. people were buying all kinds of things products that made 0 contribution to the competitiveness of the domestic economy that's known as the resource curse or the paradox of plenty. as the senate goes down the streets of caracas go quiet. presidents retreat to their homes for their own safety venezuela has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. and i go there i've just done some grocery shopping. enough for maybe 15 days. this stuff cost 30315 believe it is. here and these things cost $46200.00 believe itis. that $16000.00 believe it is more than the minimum wage in venezuela. on the street they call it the diets of anything but i. am i wouldn't get out so. i'm glad he had time i looked at all the. time i. seen him to see that we ended up. a country i want for my children is the country of my own childhood. in light of current conditions i ask myself movie really doing so badly before 998. people. started. i don't. know i report. socio economic problems prompted venessa whalen's to choose the political solution that seemed the most expedient and painless. of. all and. all and that any boy who. sought a. young job and. others isn't visioning a revolution if. he wants to reconcile a new constitution with structural reforms that work on for much longer that chavis wanted to do away with the past he wanted to give the country a new name a new flag and even a new time zone chavez was now quite literally dictating the course of time he also had the constitution amended in his favor. the put america popular party of simply disappeared into thin air but bill there was no resistance or you know it was a total capitulation absolute. and the parties may have surrendered but the people did not resist tense formed amid the flood of reforms women were the 1st to turn out on the streets in large numbers. and soon enough a general strike was called for by pedro carmona head of the venice a well and federation of chambers of commerce. but there was no stopping chavez and . steamrolling reforms he then also took control of the state owned oil company paid of a cell. that paid a basic determined what it needed and what it paid to the government of the state within a state something charges could are committed. it also go on also once again. on all the silat they did to seal the deal that's against the person. who breaks it they know that the people realize that he was an autocrat worse than anyone before him. that he has absolute rule also over television it was no regard for existing laws against the. oh. my hasty firings led to an escalation and protests then his awareness sank into chaos but what developed next is still disputed and interpreted differently today my feet and i we have a credit here there were many justified demonstrations say more but there was also a conspiracy is you know you were part of the there were various political parties church groups and industry figures who used these popular protests to try to overthrow the government which led to the events of april 11th. really when i doing one of the many demonstrations in this case headed for the presidential palace government snipers shot at the crowd of. the of the city police returned fire a couple of hours later there were 18 people dead and 70 injured when you like her it was very very i senior military officers called on their troops to resist orders in order to avoid a bloodbath chavez eventually surrendered and was arrested. pedro carmona was named interim president dissolving parliament and dismissing governors mayors and other officials the constitution was suspended while the new government was appointed. it was far more authoritarian than what chavez had thread. and going to which is why it was unsustainable out there who the coup leaders were ultimately opposed by their own armed forces. i don't would be. then if so wellens again took to the streets this time calling for the old constitutional order to be restored. part of the opposition and the army to challenge the new government the subsequent culture coupe brought chavez back to power. the i look at it was typically venezuelan we have a completely improvised way the coup and counter-coup were carried out i'd say that for us venezuelans improvisations is a method a breeze as you're going to make though a party that got below me following the 2002 coup charges started looking for other options. he realized that he would be unable to change venezuela this way. go up i mean they've been able to look at us when. he gave that it's him as a military man in charge has always believed in a strategy of counterattack and. the attempted coup in 2002 had enabled him to purge the armed forces. and now go lisita he used the oil industry strike to take control of the oil company but they're all you know you know in order for you know this. this was precisely the time when the destruction of the page of a set again. it was its demise not the drop in oil prices and that led to the current darco korea then because. companies need to be starved by ex-pats down to the very last. month and pay to face his foundation was whipped up from under it. in 2003 hugo chavez was halfway through his term as president. and he was facing a referendum. on our. polls predicted he would lose. and that's when cuba came into play in. cuba and venezuela had a previous history 3 weeks after coming to power in helena in 1959 feet out castro was given a hero's welcome in caracas the new cuban leader had begun visions and was wasting no time with his plans to spread his model for revolution across central and south america decades later they leave their maximal sign ally in charge is a man who could help them realize his goals. in $994.00 he gave the field to just the kind of reception normally reserved for heads of state. i. didn't custer was in a difficult situation. you know the collapse of the soviet union meant he no longer had anyone to support his stay. until that point had been a little like a woman living off her wealthy husband. and now travis was to take the place of the soviet union. almost 10 years later the relationship with the come a solid partnership when chavez asked his mentor for help order to consolidate his power and the cuban leader it did have a solution. proposed the mission body to attend through a social welfare program it had a very positive impact on the money the image of the venezuelan state and with the help of the cuban doctors provided better health care to the poorer neighborhoods. it's not true that venezuela had no doctors before it's just that they were made to work in rural areas deprived communities the entire thing was propaganda. the barrio identical program the construction of thousands of new health care center with 30000 medical professionals treating patients later there were similar programs in the education and housing sector which would soon be ran by the cubans as they propagated the ideology of the revolution. and society. turned for that support the castro regime was supplied with venezuelan oil much needed lifeline. venezuela sent around 100000 barrels of oil per day to cuba that's worth about 5 or $6000000000.00 per year. putting that in context venezuela's highest annual food imports amounted to $9000000000.00 so venezuela gave almost as much oil to cuba as the worth of the food it imported in a record year for us america me i mean i did so on your break or. this was the total capitulation of a country it's unprecedented in human history a small country voluntarily surrendering its sovereignty and even paying to be controlled. they print our i.d.'s and passports are in charge of the police and intelligence agencies it's total submission. one army major money on young man now. and their charter says health care and welfare programs made him a hero of the slyness whose residents were dependent on him as the price of oil continue to rise and chad has enjoyed his growing control over his people and the elections with ideas issues with feel with any checks many people were able to vote twice and there were even cases of dead people being where just had to vote the election body was run exclusively by chavez supporters voting became electronic and many feared no longer a secret ballot plus officials were afraid of losing their jobs and the authorities also organize buses to bring residents from the areas that had benefited from the welfare programs to the polling stations in 2006 was re-elected and the one man show continued. joe are a donkey. you are a donkey there are fears that this hour. that up and least. george w. . what are you and if you good child is identify his enemies including bankers the media business people and of course the united states. that he said he cites in a whole range of media outlets. there were countless disputes and in 2007 they coleman aided in radio caracas television losing its license to broadcast. that. made up. to get out a gun in the internal sort of we started mobilizing when we got the feeling that something was being taken from us you know why a t.v. station. they were taking away our right to choose which channel we wanted to watch or to express ourselves through media because that little fire under us isn't you know my cheap. that. once again the opposition parties were being overtaken by a brave young generation i had my ear. my believe it. what about that oh it was a lot going disillusionment was reflected in a referendum defeat for chavez he'd intended to amend some 69 articles in a sweeping constitutional reform among the proposed changes further developing venice away a lot what being a socialist state and allowing the president to stand indefinitely for reelection the people said no among those voting against was chavez's ex-wife simone a minute dogs we. have been in the. the army forced chavez to accept his defeat and soon enough he was facing his next challenge and economic one. charge as government nationalized entire sectors of the economy it wasn't about structural reforms or financial cuts they took a very radical approach they took control of banks supermarkets and millions of packed hours of land. and those moves basically destroyed the domestic market and the idea of individual initiative among citizens some people say today that there's not even toilet paper left in venezuela it's a bit of a cliche but there is a bit of truth in it because nobody's making it anymore there's no private sector production the market is no longer functioning. unfortunately the nationalization program was based on political not economic factors. there was no real strategy. the expropriation became an end in itself that. you're welcome out on someone out on the eve of. e.c. and only in every point to leave my daughter. comment on this you're mentally ill and i do not settle that doesn't want it but i'll be there when i come in not that i'm not going to be called thanks south is used the media to make himself the president sometimes with rambling speeches lasting hours on a show called president he was also the 1st head of state to use twitter chavez seemed more interested in his own image than the country's economic problems his popularity stemmed more from his charisma than political achievements with the nationalized companies now run by incompetent military officers the country's infrastructure sector has problems like. that. that. the reality that one entrepreneur is increasingly left to set up shop abroad the young generation continue to fight for democratic principles. and progress was made the new opposition parties secured a 3rd of the seats in the national assembly but events would take a final unexpected turn. i get cold feet in my room like see things here in the more upset. come but it sings here the center rest garden city in us. necessary you're. going to. get better. at. the president's cancer diagnosis at 1st kept secret then used to dramatically affect became a defining factor both politically and socially rumors and medical reports concerning the president who was then reelected in 2012 became part of the daily news cycle for venice a whale and. his final rally is really interesting the footage has a very religious feel. there are moments in history where you think. did that really happened or was it staged. i think it was almost a case of deification because you're being in. charge as wanted an epic tale he made these bellicose speeches but had no story to back them up you know that he didn't come down from the sierra maestra he didn't overthrow some dictator or set up some grillo force but he talked as if he were che guevara or castro. in reality all he done was win an election in an oil rich country i.e. chavez's sickness spurred on a new narrative and a religious dimension to his character it began with that election campaign and ended with his death his resurrection via the media added a new chapter as well as that still present in venezuela today this will. be exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear though chavez died in 2013 at the. age of 58 many in the country mourn for a man who became a legend. i often wonder today what it is that defines us as a country country where what really matters is the people not the individual and rights as opposed to responsibilities. venezuelans have gotten used to shortages and restrictions at 1st they assumed they would be temporary but now they've simply become a part of life people have learned to be resourceful. they are. there so it's not so much us. everything was different when charges was still president. back then the country had everything chavez was a man who made a difference he had an alternative vision. my duro is my duro a completely different kind of politician he had everything but failed to take advantage of that what are we venezuelan supposed to do. if the politicians fail to come to agreement this country will face further growing up these. prior to his death chavez appointed one of his closest allies as interim president nicolas maduro was subsequently confirmed into office in the april 23rd tina lection a former bus driver who had attended a political training school that had down my dura was alleged to be a pond for a cuban regime eager to maintain in the once over the country. in 2014 street protests raged against them a door government and work put down with deadly force. 2015 saw the opposition assume the majority in the national assembly 2 years later by dural stripped the parliament of its legislative powers which were now transferred to pro-government loyalists. the protests continued on may 20th 2018 my dural won a 2nd term in office albeit in an election that critics call farcical. anti continue to block any humanitarian aid to the country. these young women who are part of my duros mission is to protect chavez's legacy that that's why chavez chose him. now everyone's talking about ma duro nobody's talking about charges anymore now the model basically took care of all the dirty work like in the church he's like a priest who says he'll take responsibility for everything for to me he never said or that it was the previous government's fault or a consequence of charges his policies in the child or no none of the representatives i approach from adorers regime ultimately agreed to an interview a few did it 1st but only for a fee which i refused to pay. after 17 years of chavez close a month when only vadis and one why don't your elected to the national assembly as deputies representing the state of far that's a feat that nobody had believed in anymore you have to have as you know our generation took up the challenge of resurrecting belief in politics gets out for us chavez was the result of anti politics and the party and an anti sr all sort of so we grew up on the charges and we're too young to remember the country's democratic era child was 12 when he came to power but still we believe in politics is the be and to. venezuela has traditionally been a country that well come down there is with an open arms today people are fleeing the country for other parts of latin america. i met the gross secretary general of the organization of american states on the kuta bridge connecting venice whalen and columbia. he was among the 1st to alert the international community. if the british. yes the fundamental problem with this presidency or form does the repressive structures set up in minister raila over the last 15 years. to learn the possibility of any change of power. although this is also supported by external factors. for example castro thanks to the $20000.00 plus cubans yakima duro in venezuela. then you have colombia's national liberation army in the in the presence of hezbollah and iran plus the mexican cartels. skin and no support that is do or keeps himself in power not because of his strength but because of his weakness if modi were forced it would mark the end of a setup where a number of players have been hoping for a revival of the cold war. some same a duro has the backing of the military although perhaps he is capitalizing on fear and terror the regime was devouring its own people. my husband is an army commander and was in charge of one of the highest profile battalions in venezuela. one day they arrested 6 commanders who had complained about food shortages for their true. does this they were charged with conspiracy. the torture included a lead to clone to round the head to increase pressure until they faint at what. they would be seen on the back of their legs with a hot pipe. a lot of them had broken ribs. how are we to get rid of a dictatorship or with ties to organized crime. and as for restoring human rights. that are going to happen by emphasizing them in countless speeches when i completed production of this new one why don't i was recognized by over 50 nations as the legitimate interim president of venezuela even barked on what would be a marathon undertaking. where that journey ends as unclear as a rational as a night sound i have to believe in him and the hope he instilled in us. to talk top. secret dance crew called are taking social media by storm. is proving that modern choreography and cool phoenix. tradition classico filed. 30 minutes on t.w. . where i come from we have to fight for a free press and was born and raised in a military dictatorship with just one t.v. shadow and if you newspapers one official information as a journalist i have walked off the streets of many cantrips and their problems are almost the same point to the social inequality a lack of the freedom of the press. who can afford to stay silent when it comes to the fans of the human scene the microphones who have decided to put their trust in us. my name is jenny harrison and part of. this is a day to do news live from berlin anger and sorrow and millions more as protests against the junta continue. families more loved ones shot by security forces but their deaths are deterring opposition to the military that seems to cower last month also coming up a multimillion dollar payout for the killing of george would. this is not just a no for america to say they're glad. we have to show that black labs back.