''El ocaso del socialismo mágico'' () is a 2016 documentary film directed by Italian director Michele Calabresi. The film explores the effects of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

and his victory in the 1998 presidential elections, as well as his mistakes.

Themes

Calabresi's intention was to show the achievements as well as the often forgotten and ignored and mistakes of chavismo to the European left wing, who had romanticized chavismo and had been reluctant to admit the consequences of the growing militarism and authoritarianism in Venezuela. The director presents this through six chapters: leadership and anti-politics; the two left wings; opposition: from the coup to the vote; Chávez and the workers, participatory democracy; and the appearance of Hugo Chávez on the public scene, his arrival in power and the achievements and mistakes of his administration (

Petrostate A petrostate or oil state is a nation whose economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and export of oil or natural gas. The presence alone of large oil and gas industries does not define a petrostate; countries like Norway, Canada, and the Uni ...

and magical socialism).

Reception

Américo Martín in ''

El Nuevo Herald ''El Nuevo Herald'' is a newspaper published daily in Spanish in Southeast Florida, United States. Its headquarters is in Doral. ''El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is the ''Miami Herald'', also produced by the McClatchy Company. About ''el Nuevo H ...

'' described it as an "excellent" documentary, saying that the capacity was at its limit at the theatre in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, where he watched the documentary, and that entrances ran out.

Cast

References

External links

*
Official website

Tráiler de "El ocaso del socialismo mágico"

Efecto Cocuyo Efecto Cocuyo ( en, Firefly Effect) is a Venezuelan journalism outlet devoted to independent media. The website was co-founded in January 2015 by Laura Weffer, former director of Venezuelan newspaper ''Diario 2001'', Luz Mely Reyes, and Josefina R ...

- YouTube
El ocaso del socialismo mágico LA PEOR DE LAS UTOPÍAS, por Américo Martín
- Ideas de Babel {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocaso del socialismo mágico, El 2016 documentary films Documentary films about Venezuela 2010s Spanish-language films