Venezuelan: "In this 'dictatorship', you have to hide (from right wingers) that you are Chavista"

(March 2019, Caracas.)

Jesus Rodriguez Espinoza was Venezuela's Deputy Consul in Chicago from 2005-2008, and Consul General from 2008-2017.

In 2017, after the US suddenly ordered consulate staff to leave the country, Jesus returned to Caracas. In December 2018, he founded The Orinoco Tribune, an English website focused on news and analysis from Venezuela.

In March, I interviewed Jesus, discussing Venezuelan politics, economy, Chavismo and more. Unfortunately the first video file was corrupted, so the intro is missing. However, Jesus brings needed insight to those less informed on Venezuela.

Excerpt on Chavismo

“It's a feeling that goes beyond ideology, like something that connects the Chavistas with Chavez. Chavez is a mix of socialism and patriotism, using the right concept of nationalism. The Latin American nationalism. Whenever Chavez talked about nationalism, he talked about the nation being from Mexico to Argentina. That's the Bolivar idea also.

Whenever we talk about Chavismo, we're talking about sovereignty, socialism, peoples empowerment—giving power to the ones that were usually excluded. That's very important, especially among the poorest Venezuelans that in the years before Chavez were invisible. As we are invisible right now for the mass media around the world. It's very rare—one out of two hundred pieces that I read in English refers to Chavismo and what it means. In all the analyses that are made, they make invisible whatever is Chavismo.

They base all of their analysis on lies, because if you talk about Venezuela and you don't talk about Chavismo, about the millions of Venezuelans that are committed to not going back to what we had before Chavez...you will realize that your analysis is wrong."

Consider supporting his project, the Orinoco Tribune:
https://orinocotribune.com

Related:

Venezuelan Man Burned Alive Dies as Death Toll Tops 73 (June 2017)
A Venezuelan man burned alive by opposition protesters has died of his injuries as anti-government unrest claimed two more lives over the weekend.
https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13170

Related:

https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/

https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/

https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/

https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/