Dancing with the Devils

Names on a List

Episode 10  |  What was the Tascón List?  Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join [https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join]  In 2004, Hugo Chávez faced a recall referendum that threatened to remove him from power.  But as millions of Venezuelans signed to demand a vote, their names were turned into a political weapon. The infamous Tascón List exposed citizens—and helped transform democracy into a system of loyalty and fear.  This is the story of the 2004 recall referendum, the Bolivarian Missions, and the blacklist that divided Venezuela.

The Final Battle

Episode 9 | How did Chávez take over Venezuela’s oil industry? Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join [https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join]  After the failed coup of April 2002, Venezuela entered a new phase of confrontation. Chávez purged the military, the opposition occupied Plaza Altamira, and the battle moved to the heart of the Venezuelan state: PDVSA.  This is the story of the national strike that was meant to bring Chávez down—and turned into his greatest victory.

The Coup: From the Ashes

Episode 8  |  How did Hugo Chávez return to power after the 2002 coup? In this episode, we follow the chaotic hours after Chávez was removed from power, the rise of Pedro Carmona’s short-lived interim government, the disastrous Carmona Decree, and the reversal that brought Chávez back to power less than 48 hours later.  April 2002 would become one of the great founding myths of Chavismo.  But the real story is more complicated.  This is the story of how Hugo Chávez rose from the ashes.

The Coup: Chávez Falls

Episode 7  |  How was Hugo Chávez removed from power in 2002?  On April 11, 2002, more than half a million Venezuelans marched through Caracas toward Miraflores Palace. By nightfall, people were dead in the streets—and Chávez had fallen.  But the president's dramatic fall didn't come out of nowhere.  In this episode, we trace the months of escalating confrontation that pushed Venezuela to the brink. As Chávez moved to impose his will on the institutions he did not control, both he and his opponents grew more radical, more organized, and more desperate.  The pressure was building—and in April 2002... Venezuela exploded.

Revolution? What Revolution?

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."