Comandante

Comandante

Episode

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

20130325

20130326 (R4)

The political career of Hugo Rafael Chကvez Fr퀀as had an inauspicious start. A failed coup in 1992 led to a two-year prison sentence. But Ch倀vez was nothing less than resilient. He returned to win the 1999 election and remained in power until his death from cancer on March 5th this year.

Throughout his presidency he made friends and enemies in almost equal measure. To the Venezuelan working classes, who benefited from many of his social reforms, he was an heroic figure. To other elements of Venezuelan society, he was considered manipulative and autocratic. Abroad, his reputation was similarly polarised - the US in particular, fired by his alliance with Cuba, found Chကvez an antagonistic figure.

As Gabriel Garc퀀a Mကrquez wrote in 1999, after flying from Cuba to Caracas with the new president, 'While he sauntered off with his bodyguards of decorated officers and close friends, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I had just been travelling and chatting pleasantly with two opposing men. One to whom the caprices of fate had given an opportunity to save his country. The other, an illusionist, who could pass into the history books as just another despot.

Rory Carroll joined The Guardian as a reporter in 1997. After spells in Rome, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Irishman took over the paper's Baghdad bureau. On October 19th, 2005 Carroll was abducted, but released unharmed a day later. In April 2006, he was appointed The Guardian's Latin American correspondent, and worked out of Caracas for the next six years. In 2011, he was long-listed for The Orwell Prize.

Writer: Rory Carroll

Reader: Jack Klaff

Abridger: Pete Nichols

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

For the ministers working under Chavez, existence could be unpredictable.

20130327

20130326 (R4)

Writer: Rory Carroll

Reader: Jack Klaff

Abridger: Pete Nichols

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

In 2002, Chavez's presidency was rocked as the opposition united against him.

20130327

20130328 (R4)

Writer: Rory Carroll

Reader: Jack Klaff

Abridger: Pete Nichols

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

Chavez's connection with Cuba grew ever closer.

20130328

20130329 (R4)

Writer: Rory Carroll

Reader: Jack Klaff

Abridger: Pete Nichols

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

Chavez's near-sequestration of the media proved an invaluable political tool.

05 LAST

20130329

20130330 (R4)

Writer: Rory Carroll

Reader: Jack Klaff

Abridger: Pete Nichols

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

In 2009, Chavez guaranteed his political future.

Episodes

Episode	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	20130325	20130326 (R4)	The political career of Hugo Rafael Chကvez Fr퀀as had an inauspicious start. A failed coup in 1992 led to a two-year prison sentence. But Ch倀vez was nothing less than resilient. He returned to win the 1999 election and remained in power until his death from cancer on March 5th this year. Throughout his presidency he made friends and enemies in almost equal measure. To the Venezuelan working classes, who benefited from many of his social reforms, he was an heroic figure. To other elements of Venezuelan society, he was considered manipulative and autocratic. Abroad, his reputation was similarly polarised - the US in particular, fired by his alliance with Cuba, found Chကvez an antagonistic figure. As Gabriel Garc퀀a Mကrquez wrote in 1999, after flying from Cuba to Caracas with the new president, 'While he sauntered off with his bodyguards of decorated officers and close friends, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I had just been travelling and chatting pleasantly with two opposing men. One to whom the caprices of fate had given an opportunity to save his country. The other, an illusionist, who could pass into the history books as just another despot. Rory Carroll joined The Guardian as a reporter in 1997. After spells in Rome, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Irishman took over the paper's Baghdad bureau. On October 19th, 2005 Carroll was abducted, but released unharmed a day later. In April 2006, he was appointed The Guardian's Latin American correspondent, and worked out of Caracas for the next six years. In 2011, he was long-listed for The Orwell Prize. Writer: Rory Carroll Reader: Jack Klaff Abridger: Pete Nichols A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4. For the ministers working under Chavez, existence could be unpredictable.
02	20130327	20130326 (R4)	The political career of Hugo Rafael Chကvez Fr퀀as had an inauspicious start. A failed coup in 1992 led to a two-year prison sentence. But Ch倀vez was nothing less than resilient. He returned to win the 1999 election and remained in power until his death from cancer on March 5th this year. Throughout his presidency he made friends and enemies in almost equal measure. To the Venezuelan working classes, who benefited from many of his social reforms, he was an heroic figure. To other elements of Venezuelan society, he was considered manipulative and autocratic. Abroad, his reputation was similarly polarised - the US in particular, fired by his alliance with Cuba, found Chကvez an antagonistic figure. As Gabriel Garc퀀a Mကrquez wrote in 1999, after flying from Cuba to Caracas with the new president, 'While he sauntered off with his bodyguards of decorated officers and close friends, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I had just been travelling and chatting pleasantly with two opposing men. One to whom the caprices of fate had given an opportunity to save his country. The other, an illusionist, who could pass into the history books as just another despot. Rory Carroll joined The Guardian as a reporter in 1997. After spells in Rome, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Irishman took over the paper's Baghdad bureau. On October 19th, 2005 Carroll was abducted, but released unharmed a day later. In April 2006, he was appointed The Guardian's Latin American correspondent, and worked out of Caracas for the next six years. In 2011, he was long-listed for The Orwell Prize. Writer: Rory Carroll Reader: Jack Klaff Abridger: Pete Nichols A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4. In 2002, Chavez's presidency was rocked as the opposition united against him.
03	20130327	20130328 (R4)	The political career of Hugo Rafael Chကvez Fr퀀as had an inauspicious start. A failed coup in 1992 led to a two-year prison sentence. But Ch倀vez was nothing less than resilient. He returned to win the 1999 election and remained in power until his death from cancer on March 5th this year. Throughout his presidency he made friends and enemies in almost equal measure. To the Venezuelan working classes, who benefited from many of his social reforms, he was an heroic figure. To other elements of Venezuelan society, he was considered manipulative and autocratic. Abroad, his reputation was similarly polarised - the US in particular, fired by his alliance with Cuba, found Chကvez an antagonistic figure. As Gabriel Garc퀀a Mကrquez wrote in 1999, after flying from Cuba to Caracas with the new president, 'While he sauntered off with his bodyguards of decorated officers and close friends, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I had just been travelling and chatting pleasantly with two opposing men. One to whom the caprices of fate had given an opportunity to save his country. The other, an illusionist, who could pass into the history books as just another despot. Rory Carroll joined The Guardian as a reporter in 1997. After spells in Rome, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Irishman took over the paper's Baghdad bureau. On October 19th, 2005 Carroll was abducted, but released unharmed a day later. In April 2006, he was appointed The Guardian's Latin American correspondent, and worked out of Caracas for the next six years. In 2011, he was long-listed for The Orwell Prize. Writer: Rory Carroll Reader: Jack Klaff Abridger: Pete Nichols A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4. Chavez's connection with Cuba grew ever closer.
04	20130328	20130329 (R4)	The political career of Hugo Rafael Chကvez Fr퀀as had an inauspicious start. A failed coup in 1992 led to a two-year prison sentence. But Ch倀vez was nothing less than resilient. He returned to win the 1999 election and remained in power until his death from cancer on March 5th this year. Throughout his presidency he made friends and enemies in almost equal measure. To the Venezuelan working classes, who benefited from many of his social reforms, he was an heroic figure. To other elements of Venezuelan society, he was considered manipulative and autocratic. Abroad, his reputation was similarly polarised - the US in particular, fired by his alliance with Cuba, found Chကvez an antagonistic figure. As Gabriel Garc퀀a Mကrquez wrote in 1999, after flying from Cuba to Caracas with the new president, 'While he sauntered off with his bodyguards of decorated officers and close friends, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I had just been travelling and chatting pleasantly with two opposing men. One to whom the caprices of fate had given an opportunity to save his country. The other, an illusionist, who could pass into the history books as just another despot. Rory Carroll joined The Guardian as a reporter in 1997. After spells in Rome, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Irishman took over the paper's Baghdad bureau. On October 19th, 2005 Carroll was abducted, but released unharmed a day later. In April 2006, he was appointed The Guardian's Latin American correspondent, and worked out of Caracas for the next six years. In 2011, he was long-listed for The Orwell Prize. Writer: Rory Carroll Reader: Jack Klaff Abridger: Pete Nichols A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4. Chavez's near-sequestration of the media proved an invaluable political tool.
05 LAST	20130329	20130330 (R4)	The political career of Hugo Rafael Chကvez Fr퀀as had an inauspicious start. A failed coup in 1992 led to a two-year prison sentence. But Ch倀vez was nothing less than resilient. He returned to win the 1999 election and remained in power until his death from cancer on March 5th this year. Throughout his presidency he made friends and enemies in almost equal measure. To the Venezuelan working classes, who benefited from many of his social reforms, he was an heroic figure. To other elements of Venezuelan society, he was considered manipulative and autocratic. Abroad, his reputation was similarly polarised - the US in particular, fired by his alliance with Cuba, found Chကvez an antagonistic figure. As Gabriel Garc퀀a Mကrquez wrote in 1999, after flying from Cuba to Caracas with the new president, 'While he sauntered off with his bodyguards of decorated officers and close friends, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I had just been travelling and chatting pleasantly with two opposing men. One to whom the caprices of fate had given an opportunity to save his country. The other, an illusionist, who could pass into the history books as just another despot. Rory Carroll joined The Guardian as a reporter in 1997. After spells in Rome, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Irishman took over the paper's Baghdad bureau. On October 19th, 2005 Carroll was abducted, but released unharmed a day later. In April 2006, he was appointed The Guardian's Latin American correspondent, and worked out of Caracas for the next six years. In 2011, he was long-listed for The Orwell Prize. Writer: Rory Carroll Reader: Jack Klaff Abridger: Pete Nichols A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4. In 2009, Chavez guaranteed his political future.