The Guacamaya

Alex TVzla

The Guacamaya is a podcast about Venezuela—its history, politics, and the forces that shaped the country we know today. From dictators and coups to oil, democracy, and the rise of Hugo Chávez, each episode goes beyond the headlines to explain how Venezuela got here... and where it may be going next.

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28 episodes
weekly
Avg 22 min
English

Episodes 28

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#28
Tuesday · 22 min
The Maduro Diet
Episode 26 | As Venezuelans searched for food in the garbage, Nicolás Maduro enjoyed a luxury steak dinner abroad. After crushing the protests of 2017, his regime tightened its grip on power while hunger transformed daily life. In this episode, we explore the desperate struggle to survive and the election that handed Maduro another six years. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#27
September 29 · 17 min
Why Maduro Survived
Episode 25 | Why did Nicolás Maduro survive Venezuela’s economic collapse and the mass protests of 2017? In this episode, we examine the two strategies that kept him in power: control over the military—and turning access to food into a tool of political control. As Venezuelans struggled to change their government, the dictatorship made both its commanders and its poorest citizens dependent on its survival. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#26
September 22 · 19 min
Killing Venezuelans
Episode 24 | How far would Nicolás Maduro go to stay in power? In 2017, Venezuelans filled the streets demanding democracy, food, medicine, and a future in their own country. For four months, they kept marching as the regime answered with repression. Through the voice of 17-year-old Neomar Lander, this episode follows a generation’s struggle to reclaim Venezuela—and the devastating cost of a government’s determination to hold on. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#25
September 15 · 19 min
Losing the National Assembly
Episode 23 | What happens when a dictatorship loses an election? In December 2015, Venezuela’s opposition won a sweeping majority in the National Assembly. Millions celebrated, believing change was finally within reach. But Nicolás Maduro’s government was already preparing its response. Through the Supreme Court, chavismo began dismantling the opposition’s victory—setting Venezuela on a collision course with the streets. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#24
September 8 · 22 min
No Exit
Episode 22 | Why did Venezuela’s 2014 protests fail to force Nicolás Maduro from power? As students filled the streets and opposition leaders rallied behind La Salida, the government responded with repression, propaganda, and a strategy to contain the unrest. This episode explores the power behind the 2014 protest movement, the divisions that weakened it, and the human cost of searching for an exit that never came. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#23
September 1 · 22 min
Things Fall Apart
Episode 21 | When Nicolás Maduro inherited Venezuela, the country was already dangerously fragile. Then came empty shelves, blackouts, spiraling inflation, rampant violent crime. This is the story of how Venezuela began to fall apart, and how a state too hollow to protect its citizens remained powerful enough to punish its enemies. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#22
August 25 · 21 min
Nicolás Maduro
Episode 20 | Nicolás Maduro was easy to underestimate. He was mocked as a bus driver, an idiot, and dismissed as a weak successor to Hugo Chávez. But behind the jokes was a far more experienced political operator—one shaped by Cuba and increasingly dependent on an informal alliance with Diosdado Cabello. This episode looks at the man Maduro really was, the crisis he inherited, and how the alliance that would define Venezuela’s next chapter began to take shape. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#21
August 18 · 20 min
Chavismo without Chávez
Episode 19 | In March 2013, Venezuela faced a question it had never confronted before: could chavismo survive without Hugo Chávez? In this episode we follow Chávez’s massive state funeral, the extraordinary ten-day campaign that turned the dead president into Nicolás Maduro’s most powerful electoral weapon, and the razor-thin and deeply disputed 2013 presidential election against Henrique Capriles Radonski. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#20
August 11 · 16 min
Where is the President of Venezuela?
Episode 18 | For nearly three months, Venezuela's president had disappeared. After Hugo Chávez left for Cuba in December 2012, he missed his own inauguration and left the country trapped in a growing mystery over his health—and whether he was even still alive. In this episode, we follow the weeks of uncertainty in a country gripped by one growing question: Where is the President of Venezuela? Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#19
August 4 · 20 min
The Tragedy of Hugo Chávez
Episode 17 | In the final episode on Hugo Chávez, The Guacamaya explores the mysticism, charisma and improbable fortune that carried him from a failed coup to the presidency—and kept him there. From Bolívar’s Delirium on Chimborazo and the exhumation of the Liberator’s remains to Chávez’s final campaign, illness and death, this episode examines the tragedy of a leader who had the power to unite Venezuela, but chose division, personal rule and an eternal revolution instead. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#18
July 28 · 18 min
Chávez's "Simón Bolívar"
Episode 16 | What was actually “Bolivarian” about Hugo Chávez’s revolution? This episode examines the Liberator Chávez worshipped, the historical Bolívar hidden beneath Venezuela’s national mythology, and the political ideas the two men truly shared. Bolívar was no socialist—but he may have had much more in common with Chávez than either man's admirers understood. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#17
July 21 · 21 min
The Democratic Dictator
Episode 15 | How did elections become one of Hugo Chávez's most powerful weapons? This episode traces how Chávez manipulated Venezuela’s electoral system from 1999 to 2012—rewriting the rules, blacklisting opponents, coercing public employees, gerrymandering districts, and stripping rivals of power. This is how Venezuela became a dictatorship through the ballot box. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
- Transcript
#16
July 14 · 21 min
Millionaires of the Revolution
Episode 14 | How did Hugo Chávez’s socialist revolution create a new class of millionaires? This episode explains how CADIVI, Fonden, and Venezuela’s historic oil boom became engines of corruption—and how loyalty to Chávez gave insiders access to cheap dollars, government contracts, and impunity—giving rise to a new oligarchy in Venezuela: the Bolivarian bourgeoisie. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
- Transcript
#15
July 7 · 16 min
Special Report: This Tragedy Is Political
Special Report | More than ten days after back-to-back earthquakes devastated the country, the Venezuelan regime has blocked rescuers, controlled aid, monitored journalists, and persecuted victims who have spoken out. In this episode, we examine the aftermath of this tragedy, exposing the true nature of the Venezuelan dictatorship. Link to verified organizations providing assistance in Venezuela can be found here: https://donarseguro.com/en Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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#14
June 30 · 17 min
Special Report: Earthquakes in Venezuela
Special Report | On June 24, two massive earthquakes—magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5—struck Venezuela just seconds apart, destroying hundreds of buildings and leaving tens of thousands of people dead, missing, or homeless. In this episode, I examine the scale of the destruction, the regime’s disastrous response, and the ordinary Venezuelans who were forced to dig through the rubble and organize relief efforts themselves. Link to verified organizations providing assistance in Venezuela can be found here: https://donarseguro.com/en Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
- Transcript
#13
June 23 · 24 min
¡Exprópiese!
Episode 13 | How did Chávez’s expropriations destroy Venezuela’s economy? In this episode, we examine the mass expropriations at the heart of Chávez’s socialist project—from banks and supermarkets, to factories and farms. We explore how worker “co-management,” price controls, state ownership, and corruption devastated domestic production. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
- Transcript
#12
June 16 · 26 min
Socialism of the 21st Century
Episode 12 | What was "Socialism of the 21st Century"? After winning reelection in 2006, Hugo Chávez claimed Venezuela had voted for "socialism." But what did that actually mean? In this episode, we explore how Chávez came to adopt socialism. How he turned a vague slogan into the blueprint for a new political order built around the "Communal State"—a new, terrifying alternative to the state outlined in the Venezuelan constitution. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
- Transcript
#11
June 9 · 25 min
American Empire
Episode 11 | How did the United States become Hugo Chávez's enemy? After the failed coup of 2002, Chávez transformed a Venezuelan political crisis into something much bigger: a global battle between his revolution and U.S. imperialism. And it worked. Around the world, Chávez became famous for standing up to American power. But inside Venezuela, that same rhetoric was used to persecute the opposition, silence the media, and intimidate civil society. This is the story of how Hugo Chávez turned anti-Americanism into a weapon for his "Bolivarian Revolution." Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
- Transcript
#10
June 2 · 25 min
Names on a List
Episode 10 | What was the Tascón List? 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. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
- Transcript
#9
May 26 · 27 min
The Final Battle
Episode 9 | How did Chávez take over Venezuela’s oil industry? 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. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15932964/join Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at_tvzla/
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