WATCH NOW on FILMON
Anatomy of a Coup
Anatomy of a Coup is a revealing documentary that explores the April 2002 attempt to remove Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez from power — not through a political defeat, but through detention, narrative control, and an attempt to overwrite legitimacy with headlines. As this film shows, when media and authority try to replace public consent with broadcasts, the result can be dramatic… and unstable.
What Happened in 2002
In April 2002, a complex political crisis erupted in Venezuela:
- President Hugo Chávez was detained by dissenting military factions.
- Private media quickly declared he had “resigned” and was out of power.
- Political declarations broadcast nationwide attempted to normalize a new authority.
- Within 48 hours, mass protests and loyalist forces reversed the takeover and restored Chávez.
The takeaway from that swift reversal was striking: force alone was not enough; the narrative had to be controlled, and the public had to consent — or resist loudly.
Media, Narrative, and Legitimacy
The real power revealed in the film is not in guns or decrees, but in how information — or misinformation — can shape belief. In a world of rolling news and instant headlines, whoever controls the story can try to control legitimacy. But as the events of 2002 made clear, legitimacy won on the news can be overturned on the streets.
A Modern Parallel: The Maduro Era
Fast forward to the present day. Nicolás Maduro has led Venezuela longer than Chávez’s presidency, but the methods used to challenge his authority contrast sharply with 2002:
- There is no verified report of Maduro’s arrest or incarceration — legal or otherwise.
- International pressure has taken the form of diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions.
- Opposition movements seek to delegitimize his authority through election law challenges and recognition disputes.
- Media narratives — national and global — shape public perception over years, not hours.
Where Chávez’s brief detention was a dramatic rupture, the current environment is a slow tension, a long attrition of narrative and leverage.
Why It Matters
Anatomy of a Coup remains powerful because it teaches us this: legitimacy cannot be broadcast; it must be sustained by the governed. When media is used to declare an outcome before consent exists, resistance will follow. And in 2026, Venezuela’s story continues — not with a sudden arrest, but with the long negotiation between authority, narrative, and public will.
WATCH NOW on FILMON