“A trench of ideas is bigger than a trench of stones.” Jose Marti (Cuban Revolutionary Hero)
This was quoted by a Venezuelan community radio station coordinator in the beautiful countryside of Sanare. Here we see images of Simon Bolivar, Che Guevara, and Hugo Chavez. These are painted murals throughout the country of national hero’s and icons for the unification of the Latin American countries in Chavez’s Bolivarian Revolution.
Sanare
Some of these murals are painted by independent artists, but majority are painted by Chavistas and government sponsored “mural committees” that paint the country red.
While Venezuela is no exception to the use of graffiti, other countries like Mexico, Columbia, and Argentina have a history of this sort of artistic expression. It is no doubt part of a greater scheme; while some part of it is owned by the grassroots and marginalized population and used as an outlet of opinion. There is this other wave of political graffiti used to help create the idea of a nation-state. These images seen across Venezuela are examples of the symbolism used to put a face on democracy. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words; what are these images saying to the people? Are they really by the people for the people? Has the government tapped into the underground culture and created an artistic political expression?
Sanare
There is a difference of course between the image of Che, Bolivar, and Chavez; yet how often do we hear Chavez quoting these iconic heroes? "The most perfect system of government is the one which produces the greatest possible happiness...” -Simon Bolivar. I heard this quote many times over from different people while interviewing radio stations, religious organizations, government workers...the heroes are engrained in Venezuelan history and without them there could not have been a revolution...right?
Barquisimeto
Caracas- In favor of Opposition
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