CASPER
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CARACAS, Venezuela – The program begins with upbeat music that sounds like a game show theme. Colors shimmer across the screen, and the title appears: "Hello, President."
That's Hugo Chavez's cue, and the show is on.
The Venezuelan president's program usually lasts between four and six hours each Sunday. It's become a time-tested tool for connecting with his public, monopolizing attention and setting the national agenda.
Now the media-savvy leader has turned it into something more like a one-man telethon with nearly three full days of talk, ending Sunday. In the first two days, he was on the air for about 15 hours, telling stories, lashing out at critics and occasionally breaking into song.
"I think from now on we're going to have 'Hello President' every day. I'm liking the dynamic," Chavez quipped as he began one episode at a Caracas park.
Chavez is probably the world's most long-winded leader, an extraordinary communicator who craves the spotlight, thrives on confrontation and excels as an entertainer. His keeps Venezuelans talking about him — whether they love him or hate him.
The live addresses are essential to his style and allow him to govern through the media.
All top officials are expected to spend long hours listening. Without warning, he is prone to announce Cabinet changes or seizures of companies. Sometimes he upbraids officials for potholes or trash-strewn streets.
"Hello President" was first broadcast on the radio on May 23, 1999, shortly after Chavez took office. State television began airing it the next year.
Since then, Chavez has appeared riding a horse, driving a tractor and atop a bicycle manufactured with help from Iran. He used the program to announce he was sending troops and tanks to the border with Colombia last year, and once told former President George W. Bush in accented English: "You are a donkey, Mr. Danger."
The former army paratroop commander says the program is his "battery of artillery in the battle of ideas."
Even in a typical week, Chavez's near-daily speeches make him a constant media presence. By law, all broadcasters are required to interrupt programming and carry Chavez's speeches whenever he deems it necessary. He has taken over the airwaves dozens of times in the past year alone.
Chavez's friend and mentor Fidel Castro — once a prolific speaker himself — has appeared on the Sunday program and says he watches it regularly. The 82-year-old Cuban leader wrote in a column that by his own conservative number-crunching, Chavez has dedicated roughly 1,536 hours to "Hello President" — "the equivalent of 64 days in all."
For some, that's too much.
Venezuelan comedian Laureano Marquez wrote a spoof several years ago imagining life under the perpetual broadcast of a leader dubbed "Chacu." Marquez envisions him cleaning his teeth on TV as he educates children on brushing techniques, before bursting into song with his mouth full of toothpaste. Chacu uses lunchtime to relate a favorite recipe from his grandmother, and even dominates the dreams of citizens through telepathic broadcasts.
That's Hugo Chavez's cue, and the show is on.
The Venezuelan president's program usually lasts between four and six hours each Sunday. It's become a time-tested tool for connecting with his public, monopolizing attention and setting the national agenda.
Now the media-savvy leader has turned it into something more like a one-man telethon with nearly three full days of talk, ending Sunday. In the first two days, he was on the air for about 15 hours, telling stories, lashing out at critics and occasionally breaking into song.
"I think from now on we're going to have 'Hello President' every day. I'm liking the dynamic," Chavez quipped as he began one episode at a Caracas park.
Chavez is probably the world's most long-winded leader, an extraordinary communicator who craves the spotlight, thrives on confrontation and excels as an entertainer. His keeps Venezuelans talking about him — whether they love him or hate him.
The live addresses are essential to his style and allow him to govern through the media.
All top officials are expected to spend long hours listening. Without warning, he is prone to announce Cabinet changes or seizures of companies. Sometimes he upbraids officials for potholes or trash-strewn streets.
"Hello President" was first broadcast on the radio on May 23, 1999, shortly after Chavez took office. State television began airing it the next year.
Since then, Chavez has appeared riding a horse, driving a tractor and atop a bicycle manufactured with help from Iran. He used the program to announce he was sending troops and tanks to the border with Colombia last year, and once told former President George W. Bush in accented English: "You are a donkey, Mr. Danger."
The former army paratroop commander says the program is his "battery of artillery in the battle of ideas."
Even in a typical week, Chavez's near-daily speeches make him a constant media presence. By law, all broadcasters are required to interrupt programming and carry Chavez's speeches whenever he deems it necessary. He has taken over the airwaves dozens of times in the past year alone.
Chavez's friend and mentor Fidel Castro — once a prolific speaker himself — has appeared on the Sunday program and says he watches it regularly. The 82-year-old Cuban leader wrote in a column that by his own conservative number-crunching, Chavez has dedicated roughly 1,536 hours to "Hello President" — "the equivalent of 64 days in all."
For some, that's too much.
Venezuelan comedian Laureano Marquez wrote a spoof several years ago imagining life under the perpetual broadcast of a leader dubbed "Chacu." Marquez envisions him cleaning his teeth on TV as he educates children on brushing techniques, before bursting into song with his mouth full of toothpaste. Chacu uses lunchtime to relate a favorite recipe from his grandmother, and even dominates the dreams of citizens through telepathic broadcasts.
