Educational Media Reviews Online

Ligia Blanco has created an excellent objective and detailed historic, political and economic film with Hugo Chávez. Current President Chávez talks about his life, social concerns, ideals and goals, while Venezuelan scholars, journalists, opposition leaders, and everyday people are interviewed throughout the film.

Hugo Chávez started his government in 1998, elected by the people and for the people. He calls himself a Christian Bolivarian Revolutionary following the doctrine of the Latin American liberator, Simón Bolivar.

President Chávez begins his interview with an excellent question: “How come a country like Venezuela, which is almost one million square kilometers, which has the biggest oil reserve in the world after the Persian Gulf, one of the biggest gold reserves in the world, and with the Caribbean sea just in front of us, the huge forest reservation and the great supply of fresh water we have, the extraordinary geographic location we have, and its millions of hectares of fertile lands, its mountains of iron, its huge reserves of bauxite, precious stones and diamonds, yet a democracy that led the country into the poverty which now afflicts 80% of the population, what kind of democracy is this?”

Chávez is trying to change the course of his country’s history by providing equal opportunities to the under privileged population. He wrote a new constitution which was accepted by 70% of the people. It provides access to health services, and justice and equal rights to the indigenous people. His land reform policy is one of the most critical issues right now. The idea is to give non-used land to those who can make use of it and encourage agricultural productivity by making the right of ownership conditional on the national interest. President Chávez mentions that a lot of the land was obtained by fraud, bribing judges or by force, killing indigenous people. His cabinet is investigating each case. If there is no real documentation of ownership and the land is not being used, it may be taken away and given to those who will use it.

The reforms initiated a violent campaign against President Chávez. The country is currently divided between his followers and his opposition. On the other hand, the United States, always pushing for its own interests, calls him “crazy” and a “communist.”

The picture and sound quality are good, with superb historic footage and interviews with President Chávez. It is in English and Spanish with English subtitles. It would be most suitable for academic departments of Latin American studies, communications, political science, and justice & peace studies.

By comparison, Venezuela: Hugo Chávez -No Ordinary President feels like U.S. propaganda against President Chávez. The documentary lacks political and historical information. There are no English subtitles of the interviews. The narrator gives his subjective point of view and does not translate what people are saying. Unless you speak fluent Spanish, you will not understand about 90% of the documentary. If you speak fluent Spanish you will be frustrated to know how much extremely important information is left out.

This film will neither inform nor challenge your students on the current Venezuelan political state or with President Chávez's ideas. Not recommended. Instead, use Hugo Chávez for objective historically based political information about Venezuela.