Hugo Chavez Pimps His Oliver Stone Doc At The Venice Film Festival While Closing Down TV Stations Back Home

Hugo Chavez, who became president of Venezuela in an effort to one day be a movie star, has finally realized his dream. Oliver Stone’s documentary about the man and his enormous impact on Latin American politics, South Of The Border, premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week and Hugo himself showed up to walk the red carpet with the director. The trailer for the film below shows that Stone managed to talk to seven presidents in five Latin American countries who are allegedly in favor of jumping on the Chavez bandwagon of getting out of America’s greedy clutches.

Watch The Trailer For Oliver Stone’s South Of The Border

In an interview at the festival, Stone described Chavez as someone who has been picked on by the U.S. media (who, us?) and called on them to examine why America must create enemies. Why? WHY??? Meanwhile, Chavez insisted that there is “clear democracy in Venezuela,” citing Abraham Lincoln as a role model who advocated for “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

But yesterday, Ana Cristina Nunez, legal advisor for Globovision TV in Venezuela, which happens to be the last major TV network highly critical of Chavez, was notified that the station could be shut down, allegedly because of broadcasting law violations. It wouldn’t be the first station that disagrees politically with Chavez to get shut down. It seems he’s still struggling with the concept of “by the people.”

While we don’t deny the U.S.’s often less than honorable motivations in meddling in Latin American politics, (and all other politics, for that matter), the difference is, we can say that here. Can Venezuela’s citizens say the same about their government? Also, you know what really would have been some investigative reporting? If Stone could have learned how to pronounce Chavez correctly.

Click here for a gallery of Hugo Chavez & Oliver Stone Walking The Revolutionary Red Carpet In Venice.

‘Movie star’ Hugo Chavez cracks down on media [Australian Times]