“Big Brother Is Watching You” Montage elaborated by César Courbenas984 used with permission. For many within Venezuela and abroad, Big Brother is tightening his grip on the nation. References online comparing George Orwell's popular novel with the situation in Venezuela have not been few, isolated or only recently mentioned. Winston Smith, the novel's main character, wants to rebel and collaborate with the overthrowing of the government that controls its citizens and brutally punishes those who commit crimes — or even think about doing so. Orwell's novel succeeds in portraying a totalitarian government that controls and manages the public and private lives of its citizens. And beyond the book and its story, Orwell also creates a universe of symbols and metaphors in which language and history are important pieces of a solid strategy for social control. Orwell's totalitarian portrayal has also reached a universality that few novels have achieved. Venezuelans haven't been the first to compare 1984 to the regimes that have ruled their countries. However, the profound crises that Venezuela actually faces in many areas, not to mention the economic and social collapse, have permeated the daily life of its citizens. Many compare characteristics of Orwell's Oceania to the political system established by Hugo Chávez and continued by his successor, Nicolás Maduro. Caracas, March 5, 2014. Commemoration of the death of President Hugo Chávez Frías. Photo: Xavier Granja Cedeño. Shared under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. For many netizens, there are numerous examples of 1984 in today’s Venezuela. For example, in 2017,1984 was staged in a theatrical adaptation. On Twitter, tags for Venezuela and 1984 appear regularly, and there has been comparisons between Ingsoc, the fictional political party of the novel, and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela: Escuchaba en audiolibro unos fragmentos de 1984, la novela de Orwell, era como escuchar una descripción de la Venezuela actual. Carteles con ojos que te siguen, apagones, celebraciones patrias, propaganda política sobre los grandes logros del régimen. — J.C Méndez Guédez (@mendezguedez) June 5, 2018 I listened to some sections of the audio book of 1984, Orwell's novel. It was like listening to a description of Venezuela today. Posters with eyes that follow you, blackouts, patriotic celebrations, political propaganda about the regime's great achievements. #GegeTuit Recordando la Novela 1984 de #Orwell, mezclada con Rebelión en la Granja, creo el escritor jamás imaginó que #Venezuela sería la mejor puesta en escena de sus obras, el que las ha leído me entenderá! El Cerdo Mayor con Bigotes, que comanda el Ingsoc Bolivariano! pic.twitter.com/X6znY35jKL — GéGé (@GegeRpz) May 17, 2018 #GegeTuit Remembering #Orwell's novel 1984 of together with Animal Farm. I think the author never imagined that #Venezuela would be the best stage for his novels. The one who's read these novels will understand! The Main Mustached Pig commands the Bolivarian Ingsoc! pic.twitter.com/X6znY35jKL Now, not only those opposed to the government see reflections of Oceania in Venezuela. Food and medicine shortages, as well as the series of protests that have turned violent have evoked similar opinions from some who support Nicolás Maduro's government. From their perspective, however, the repression comes from foreign influence and governmental opposition. Guillermo Moreno expresses it this way on the online collective (generally in support of the government) Aporrea: …recordé las largas colas para un pote de leche, para un pañal, para una medicina Y no pude dejar de asociar ese sufrimiento y esa tortura como una forma mas de manipulación que ejerce un estado para lograr sus objetivos […] Y es que el antiguo estado capitalista en Venezuela aun mantiene intacto todo su poder. Ese que tiene para dejarnos sin la leche para nuestros hijos, sin sus pañales, sin las medicinas y que nos manipula a través de los medios de comunicación tratando de convencernos de que el enemigo es el estado socialista y popular …I thought of the long lines for a bottle of milk, for a diaper, for medicine. I couldn't help but think of the suffering and the torture as another form of manipulation exercised by a state to reach its goals […] The thing is, the former capitalist regime in Venezuela still has all its power. The power to leave us without milk for our children, without their diapers, without medicine. It manipulates us through the media trying to convince us that the enemy is the people's socialist state.