Chávez, Venezuela and the New Latin America: An interview with Hugo Chávez

Is Venezuela the new Cuba? Elected by an overwhelming popular mandate in 1998, which has been reaffirmed in elections several times since, Hugo Chávez is one of Latin America’s most outspoken political leaders today.

In this extraordinary encounter, Chávez is interviewed by Aleida Guevara, the daughter of the legendary revolutionary Che Guevara. He expresses a fiercely nationalist vision for Venezuela and a commitment to a united Latin America. He also discusses the significance of the military coup against his government in April 2002, Venezuela’s new democratic constitution, the extensive social programs undertaken as part of the Bolivarian revolution and assesses his country’s relations with the United States and Cuba.

In what became a remarkably intimate dialogue over several days, Chávez is probed about his personal political formation and his views about the legacy of Che Guevara’s ideas and example in Latin America today.

Included as an appendix is an exclusive interview with Venezuela’s former minister of defense Jorge García Carneiro, who played a key role in defeating the 2002 coup against Chávez.

“There is a different Venezuela where the wretched of the earth know that they can free themselves from their past. And this is a different Latin America.” — Hugo Chávez

Aleida Guevara is the eldest daughter of Ernesto Che Guevara and Aleida March. She works as a pediatrician in Havana, Cuba, and is a prominent figure in the anti-globalization movement.

THIS INTERVIEW IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON DVD.