Venezuelan right-wing activist Carlos Baute. Venezuelan right-wing activist Carlos Baute.

Venezuelan far-Right discourse fosters racism and classism

Originally published: teleSUR English on April 20, 2026 by Silvana Solano (more by teleSUR English)  | (Posted Apr 22, 2026)
Class, Ideology, Inequality, RaceAmericas, VenezuelaNewswire

On April 18, 2026, the historic Puerta del Sol in Madrid became the setting for a political demonstration that exposed the deep-seated racial animosity characteristic of the Venezuelan opposition.

At a political rally with María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan singer Carlos Baute repeated at the microphone what the crowd was chanting, “Get the monkey out”, referring to Venezuela’s Acting President, Delcy Rodríguez.

It is important to understand that this is not the only time this has happened; it is just the latest example of a twenty-seven-year plan. Since the start of the Bolivarian Revolution in 1999, the Venezuelan right wing has always used racism and classism to try to dehumanize the Chavista movement and delegitimize its leadership.

The Bestialization of Hugo Chávez

The election of Hugo Chávez in 1998 signaled a profound shift in the Venezuelan social and political landscape. For a long time, the country’s traditional elite had made people think that there was a “racial democracy,” meaning that the country was a harmonious mix of different cultures while keeping power in the hands of a small group of white, Eurocentric people.

Chávez was the first person to openly identify as a Zambo, meaning a person of mixed African and Indigenous descent. He was proud of his physical features and heritage. He turned what the elite considered “inferior” traits into symbols of national pride.

The other side immediately started a campaign of vilification. During his presidency (1999–2013), private media outlets and political spokespeople used animal language to describe Chávez.

He was often depicted in cartoons and newspaper articles as a “monkey,” a “gorilla,” or something similar. This was not just a case of schoolyard bullying; it was a deliberate psychological tactic aimed at making the President seem like less than a human being.

The Aesthetic of Contempt: Social Segregation and the “Hordes”

As the Bolivarian Revolution continued, the opposition’s hatred moved from the individual to the group. This was achieved through what sociologists call the “aesthetic of contempt.” This strategy involved using how someone looks, what they wear, and how clean they are to show that they are morally and intellectually inferior.

A turning point happened in 2016 when Diana D’Agostino, a well-known person who was against the government and also the wife of politician Henry Ramos Allup, spoke against Chavista women in a series of important interviews. She compared their “unclean” appearance to the groomed beauty standards of the Venezuelan bourgeoisie class.

This discussion tried to change social class into something bad. By saying that working-class women were “unclean”, the opposition suggested that they were not suitable for public life.

This story was also supported by some newspapers and TV stations, which often used the term “hordes” to describe large crowds of people. The word “horde” has a strong colonial feel to it, making people think of a chaotic, uncivilised mass invading the “clean” and “ordered” spaces of the bourgeoisie.

By portraying Chavismo as a threat to “civilised” society, both morally and biologically, the right wing created a sense of justification for their supporters to resort to undemocratic actions in the name of saving the country from “barbarism”.

Classism and Xenophobia Against Nicolás Maduro

Following the death of Chávez in 2013, the opposition’s discourse shifted toward a visceral classism aimed at Nicolás Maduro. People used Maduro’s background as a bus driver for the Caracas Metro and a prominent union leader to try to make him look “intellectually inferior” and “socially unfit” for the presidency.

The word “driver” was used in a negative way to suggest that a person doing manual labor was taking over the presidential palace. This showed that the rich and powerful believed that only doctors with a university degree from certain families should be in charge.

This attack was also racist, with people questioning where Maduro was born, saying he was born in Colombia. The opposition tried to make his mandate look illegitimate by treating him like an outsider and an uneducated worker.

This story was often repeated in the international press, which often used headlines such as “The Bus Driver Dictator.”

The Pedagogy of Terror: Violence in the “Guarimbas”

The verbal mistreatment of Chavistas eventually led to extreme physical violence during the street protests known as guarimbas in 2014 and 2017. Right-wing speakers and social media influencers often call Chavistas “parasites,” “invaders,” or “plagues.” When a group of people is spoken of as if they are not human, they can be killed.

The worst example of this was the 2017 lynching of Orlando Figuera, a 21-year-old black man in the wealthy district of Altamira. Figuera was surrounded by a group of people who were against him, stabbed, and set on fire. Witnesses and investigators said that the attackers shouted, “Look, a Chavista!” just because of the color of his skin and how he looked.

Other victims included Danny Subero, a former officer who was beaten to death by a mob, and various people who were tied to poles and humiliated for “looking” like government supporters.

During these times of violence, more than 50 government-funded health centers were attacked. The opposition destroyed healthcare facilities that served the poor because they wanted to punish the people for their political loyalty.

The Madrid Incident: Globalized Racism

The 2026 incident in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol demonstrates that this ideology has survived and been exported to the international stage. The “monkey” slur directed at acting president Delcy Rodríguez, a high-ranking woman of color, is a direct continuation of the zoological language used against Chávez.

Carlos Baute’s involvement and the crowd’s enthusiastic participation show that a segment of the Venezuelan diaspora continues to view racial dehumanization as a valid form of political expression.

The reaction to the Madrid incident was polarized. Venezuelan Ecosocialist Councils and Spanish progressive parties like Más Madrid and Podemos condemned the act as a fascist hate crime. They warned that such rhetoric degrades the quality of democracy and endangers all racialized people in Europe.

Conversely, radical diaspora groups and their right-wing allies in Spain defended the slur as “freedom of speech.” This highlights a troubling trend: the globalization of Venezuelan colonial racism, where it finds common ground with rising far-right movements in the West.

The Resilience of Popular Dignity

The history of the Venezuelan right wing’s discourse since 1999 shows a clear pattern: when political arguments fail to win over the majority, the elite resorts to treating people like less than human based on their race and class.

From Hugo Chávez’s transformation into an animal to the burning of Orlando Figuera and the recent insults in Madrid, these actions are part of a clear attempt to bring back a colonial social order.

But this plan has not managed to break the spirit of the Bolivarian movement. Instead, it has made the Venezuelan people even more proud of their history. When rich and powerful people use rude words like “monkey” or “driver”, they make people think that there is a class divide in their country.

This is a country that has decided it will not be ignored anymore. To move forward, Venezuela needs to continue to free its political discussion from the influence of white discourse.

Sources: Misión Verdad – La Iguana – TeleSUR – RNC – El Perro y la Rana

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