The Guacamaya

Episode 6  |  Was Hugo Chávez always a socialist? Not exactly. When Chávez first came to power, he rejected socialism and communism—but embraced another label: revolutionary.In this episode, we trace the ideological roots of Chávez’s "Bolivarian Revolution," from Simón Bolívar and Ezequiel Zamora to Fidel Castro and Norberto Ceresole. We look at how Chávez’s vision evolved, and how it began shaping Venezuela.We also revisit one of the earliest warnings against Chávez’s authoritarian turn: Jorge Olavarría’s dramatic 1999 speech denouncing the president to his face.By 2001, Venezuela was not yet the authoritarian state it would later become. But the logic was already there: the enemies, the language, and the revolutionary fervor.This is the story of what Chávez’s “revolution” really meant—before the world came to know it as "socialist."

Episode 5  |  Why didn’t the Supreme Court stop Hugo Chávez? In this episode, we trace the moment when Venezuela’s democracy began to unravel—not through tanks or coups, but through legal decisions, political strategy, and the quiet collapse of institutional power.We follow Chávez’s first months in office: his push for a Constituent Assembly, the Supreme Court’s fateful rulings, and the electoral system that allowed him to dominate the body that would rewrite the Constitution. What emerged was not just a new legal order, but a transformation of how power was exercised in Venezuela.

Episode 4  |  In 1998, Hugo Chávez was a former coup leader fresh out of prison, polling at just five percent and dismissed by nearly everyone in Venezuela.But within a year, he would become president.In this episode, we trace how Chávez made that extraordinary rise: from his release by Rafael Caldera, to his decision to abandon armed struggle and run for office.We follow the collapse of Venezuela’s old political order, the other candidates, and the behind-the-scenes battle between Venezuela’s economic elites.Because the man who promised to destroy the oligarchy did not reach power alone—he got there with its help.

Episode 3  |  In this episode, we trace the collapse of the political system that ruled Venezuela after 1958—and how it gave rise to Hugo Chávez.For decades, Venezuela seemed to be one of the most stable and prosperous countries in Latin America. Oil wealth fueled the rise of “Saudi Venezuela,” while the political parties promised democracy, order, and progress. But beneath the surface, the system was beginning to rot.We follow the decline of the Punto Fijo era: the failed guerrilla movements of the 1960s and 70s, the rise of corruption and patronage, and the explosion of the Caracazo. As the country unraveled, old conspiracies inside the military began to grow—and a young officer named Hugo Chávez was watching.

Episode 2  |  Who built modern Venezuela?In this episode, we go back to the collapse of nineteenth-century Venezuela and the rise of the generals who built the modern state. From Cipriano Castro and Juan Vicente Gómez to the discovery of oil, the slow opening under Eleazar López Contreras and Isaías Medina Angarita, and the dramatic collapse of Venezuela’s first democratic transition.Because Venezuela was not built by politicians. It was built by soldiers.And even when democracy finally arrived... the military never truly disappeared.

Episode 1  |  On February 4, 1992, a little-known army officer named Hugo Chávez launched a military coup against the Venezuelan government. By dawn, the coup had failed. But then something unexpected happened...For less than two minutes on live television, Chávez transformed himself from an unknown colonel into the most important political figure in Venezuela.In this episode, we tell the story of the coup that changed Venezuela forever: the chaos of that night, the soldiers who followed Chávez, and the country that made his rise possible.

Episode 0  |  What happens when a country with the largest oil reserves in the world collapses into dictatorship? Welcome to The Guacamaya—the podcast about Venezuela, power, and the long history that led to the crisis we see today.In this initial episode, I explain what this podcast is, why I’m making it, and what you can expect in the episodes to come. We’ll go beyond headlines to understand how Venezuela changed, how authoritarianism took hold, and why its story matters far beyond its borders.Because to understand Venezuela today, we have to understand how we got here.