Caracas Chronicles

Photo: Miguél Angulo retrieved

Even if you haven’t read the novel, you’re probably familiar with George Orwell’s 1984. To say it has become influential is an understatement, reaching the real-life political spectrum all across the globe, and creating a whole sub-genre of pieces asking “Are we actually living in “1984”?”

If you have any doubt, there’s this nugget from President Trump.

Perhaps it’s the perfect portrayal of totalitarianism, or how Big Brother is a mold where Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Duvalier, Trujillo and Chávez all fit. We can hear it everywhere where a single party demands blind, mafia-like loyalty from all its citizens: “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power.”

Perhaps it’s the perfect portrayal of totalitarianism, or how Big Brother is a mold where Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Duvalier, Trujillo and Chávez all fit.

Venezuela doesn’t escape from such trend: A brand new article in Global Voices, co-written by Laura Vidal and CC collaborator José González Vargas, puts in perspective those specific comparisons between our dire situation and George’s descriptions of Oceania. Even some self-described supporters of Nicolás Maduro have admitted to such parallelisms.

We got our own Ingsoc, our own Big Brother, our own Thought Police and even our own eternal war with Eurasia.

But the many references regarding Venezuela are nothing new, at least here in Caracas Chronicles: Quico Toro has alluded to the novel in multiple occasions, to the point of even coining the “Orwellianismo Endógeno” term, years ago.

For the record, I haven’t read Nineteen Eighty-Four. I’ve seen parts of the film adaptation with John Hurt, but you bet I am versed in the book’s mythology.  It even became an adjective, for better or worse.

And for those asking if the article is available in Spanish, the answer is yes.