El pueblo soy yo

El pueblo soy yo (English: I am the people), also known as El Pueblo Soy Yo: Venezuela en Populismo, is a 2018 documentary film directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Carlos Oteyza and produced by Mexican historian Enrique Krauze. It was inspired by Krauze's book of the same name. The film explores the populism of Hugo Chávez.

El pueblo soy yo
Release poster
Directed byCarlos Oteyza
Produced byEnrique Krauze
Release date
11 October 2018[1]

Synopsis

According to Oteyza, the Chávez presidency and its control mechanisms of populism not only inspired a wealth redistribution, but also show the existence of a charismatic leader that divides society, establishes a hegemony of communication, and controls the institutions. Oteyza explains that the documentary is not a review of the situation in Venezuela, because it is a situation that has not ended.[2] It intends to expose and examine the rise and success of Chávez and then Nicolás Maduro and how populism can endanger any democracy.[3]

Oteyza, a social historian, uses archive footage and interviews with other experts to create views of the situation, examining populism through the lens of Venezuela. It describes the events from Chávez's failed coup to his rise and then the fall of the regime as discontent at economic failure and growing authoritarianism takes the people.[4]

Some of those featured in the documentary include Krauze, Fernando Mires, Loris Zanatta,[4] Alberto Barrera Tyszka, and Ana Rosa Torres.[5]

Production

The film was the idea of producer Enrique Krauze, who had just published a book with the same title, which formed the basis for the examination. Oteyza has said that the film is sad but necessary.[4]

Reception

It was first released in Spain, which El País suggested was because the Spanish have a fascination with the struggle of Venezuela. The newspaper reviewed the film as trying to be enlightening, but leaving out some things that El País argues are crucial to the narrative; it suggests that a discussion of the political opposition would have been more useful than "an emphatic highlighting" of the economic crisis through images of empty supermarkets and people searching through trash.[6]

A Venezuelan reviewer, Lilian Rosales, noted that for her countrymen, the film answers questions they all have about how a regime that seemed so fruitful could fall so tremendously and cause the Venezuelan crisis, but still have support. Also, contrary to the El País review, Rosales writes that the film "tries to set aside the possible melodrama [...] to build a serious account", but does acknowledge a lack of "explicit references in defense of opposing positions to the government".[7]

The documentary was nominated in the 34th Guadalajara International Film Festival for the feature-length documentary category.[8][9]

References
  1. "Ucab proyectará "El pueblo soy yo" de Carlos Oteyza" (in Spanish). Efecto Cocuyo. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  2. Sánchez Amaya, Humberto. "El pueblo soy yo, un documental para evitar la indiferencia" (in Spanish). El Nacional. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. "El pueblo soy yo: Venezuela en populismo | I Am the People: Venezuela Under Populism". cine las americas. 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  4. "Carrusel de las Artes - 'El pueblo soy yo', una cinta sobre el Chávez populista". RFI. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  5. "La cinta venezolana "El pueblo soy yo" desnuda y explica al Chávez populista". EFE (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  6. Costa, Jordi (2018-10-13). "Crítica | Aló, presidente". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  7. Rosales, Lilian (2018-10-20). "El pueblo soy yo. Venezuela en populismo". El fisgón magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  8. Camargo, Laura (21 January 2019). "Festival de Guadalajara 2019: Estos son las películas iberoamericanas seleccionadas" (in Spanish). Indie Hoy. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  9. "El documental español 'Zaniki' de Gabriel Velázquez también compite en el Festival de Guadalajara" (in Spanish). Audiovisual451. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
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