page_title: Bolivarian propaganda
section_title: Billboards and murals
hierarchical_section_title: Bolivarian propaganda / Media / Billboards and murals
caption_attribution_description: English: PDVSA Towers in Maracaibo Center
context_page_description: Bolivarian propaganda is a form of nationalist propaganda, especially in Venezuela, that utilizes the ideals espoused by Simón Bolívar, who helped lead Venezuela and other Latin American countries to independence from Spain, to exploit populist sentiments in support of local leaders. This type of propaganda has been particularly associated with Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution, which used emotional arguments to gain attention, exploit the fears of the population, create external enemies for scapegoat purposes, and produce nationalism within the population, causing feelings of betrayal for support of the opposition. The World Politics Review stated that as Chávez began "transforming Venezuela into a socialist state" that propaganda was "an important role in maintaining and mobilizing government supporters". The image of Chávez is seen on sides of buildings, on T-shirts, on ambulances, on official Petróleos de Venezuela billboards, and as action figures throughout Venezuela.
context_section_description: In Venezuela, Chávez's face can be seen on tens of thousands of billboards, posters and buildings throughout the country, usually accompanied by accomplishments of "socialist reforms". The images are "meant to inspire ideological fervor, political loyalty, and reverence".  
  The Venezuelan government requires the "name, image or figure" of Hugo Chávez to be authorized before being applied to public spaces. At the PDVSA headquarters in Caracas, large banners of Chavez appeared on the building despite the constitutional ban on political propaganda on public institutions. According to BBC, there are dozens of pro-Chavez groups that apply graffiti in Venezuela with most of them being government-sponsored. Government-sponsored works in imagery are prominent in Caracas that link liberators, revolutionaries, and leftist icons to socialist ideals. Individuals included in the government imagery are Simon Bolivar, Che Guevara, and Hugo Chávez.
  During the 2012 Venezuelan presidential elections, the eastern region of Venezuela had Chávez propaganda covered the region with articles such billboards and banners, supposedly due to the lost support of the Venezuelan government in the area due to oil refinery incidents and other environmental hazards.
caption: Chavez seen on the Zulia headquarters of PDVSA despite a constitutional ban of political propaganda on public buildings.[60]
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