An Argentine tourist recorded in Caracas: "There is no civil war, it is a global scam"

The Argentine tourist Diego Itursarry dared to show Venezuela what is forbidden in the main media: the normality.

This 38-year-old man, who spent nearly two months in this South American country, was encouraged to record a series of videos on the theme "My camera is my eyes". He toured Caracas from end to end: he was in big shopping malls, open-air markets, supermarkets, hospitals and working-clbad neighborhoods.

His recordings, which he shares via his Twitter account and Instagram @DiegoEnLaLucha, as well as on Facebook and YouTube with user Diego Tw, came into being after visiting a social housing complex of interest public. Until now, he has posted 29 clips on his tours, which have reached nearly 100,000 reproductions.

Diego, who lives in Trelew, in the Rawson department of Argentine Patagonia, talks about Caracas with the admiration of a few. He considers that "it is the most beautiful city" that he has encountered during his travels, which led him to Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay.

Viral Videos on Caracas

The professor of physical education, currently pursuing studies in political science, is not the first to record videos that have become viral on this "humanitarian crisis" that, according to the press, exists in Caracas. Recently, the Spanish political scientist Arantxa Tirado and the American journalist Max Blumenthal are visiting.

Sending on the networks what you saw as a tourist has earned you friends from other parts of the world, but also attacks and recriminations. Those who question his videos have even asked him to go to prison "to see the reality". Diego, who says he was not funded by any organization or by the Venezuelan state, is surprised by this type of question: "Why does a tourist go to hospitals, neighborhoods? popular or a dump to film? "

RT: You were in places where the caraqueños tend to go, why do you find it so strange to have found normality?

DI: It's so strange to have found normality because the media are telling us in Argentina that there is chaos, that there is a deep humanitarian crisis and extreme violence in Caracas, that it is impossible to live in this city. Nowadays in Caracas, normality is new.

I compare the lies of the international media vis-à-vis Venezuela to a big house of cards: by taking out the mobile phone, and showing with his camera what he sees, the house of cards begins to fall, because the lie is huge.

RT: What do Venezuelans think of Venezuela?

DI: The media tell us that there is no toilet paper, that there is no personal hygiene products, that it n & # 39; There is no food on the markets, that there is extreme poverty, that they will find the undernourished people on the street as if it were a poorer country of the world. 'Africa.

RT: Have you already been to Venezuela and how long have you been on a visit?

D.I: Yes, I had already been to Venezuela. I had about two months during this visit.

RT: How did you move to Caracas? Were you alone?

D.I .: I always drove alone, by metro or taxi. Some even told me that I had a driver and an escort.

RT: How did you deal with the issue of security? Did you have an incident?

D.I: I had the precautions I take when I visit a city. I took out my cellphone to record in Plaza Bolívar [en el centro histórico de Caracas], in the street, I also made videos on the Sabana Grande Boulevard, which I was told were very dangerous, at vegetable fairs …

RT: How did the idea of ​​making the videos come about? Is it spontaneous or planned?

D.I: What about videos? On the previous trip, I was eager to make them. This time, I thought I wanted to make a video and when I went to Ciudad Tiuna [urbanismo de viviendas de interés social en Caracas] and I've seen such titanic work, I decided to do them and show them to the general public.

RT: Have you been funded by an organization, by the Venezuelan state? Who financed your trip, your stay and your visits to Caracas?

D.I .: I am not financed, I finance with my own pocket: we record, we go on vacation. Everything was paid for me and for the work of my work in Argentina.

RT: Are your videos part of a project? Did you want to show something with them? You have published 28, how many in total? Did you think that they were going to become viral?

D.I .: They are not part of any project. What I wanted to show was what my eyes saw was that there was not this civil war, this level of violence that the media in my country is saying, that there was a normal life, that there were products, that there was food, there are very luxurious vehicles in the middle and upper clbad neighborhoods, they surprised me. Things were not as bad as they had told me.

RT: Have you ever been a victim of attacks on networks, do you think users wanted to find in your videos stories more similar to those of the mainstream media?

D.I: I have suffered many attacks of all kinds on networks, threats, just to show what I saw with my eyes. That's why my motto is "my camera is my eyes". I think they're getting angry because they're looking for what they think of Venezuela that is reflected in videos not to feel cheated by the media.

There is a well-known phrase of Mark Twain that is one of my favorites: "It is easier to deceive a person than to convince her that she has been deceived". Many people do not see that they are deceived. Venezuela is an unprecedented global scam.

RT: What other reactions have your videos generated?

RT: Do you think that a stranger has a distorted view of what he can find in Caracas?

DI: I do not deny that there is an economic crisis, but we must badyze the context, we should see why all the media talk about Venezuela and do not focus on countries like Colombia, with a humanitarian crisis brutal, an impressive level of violence, Mexico or countries of Central America where migrations are really huge.

USA We always see dictators in countries that have natural resources, all the time their officials say that we must impose more sanctions on Venezuela. I do not understand how there are people who do not find the link between an economic crisis, the size of Venezuela, and international sanctions.

Despite roadblocks and sanctions, I see a normal life in Caracas, which makes me think that the measures taken by the state to protect the population have effects. We must remember that services in Venezuela are almost free, like subway transportation, that gas is the cheapest in the world, that food boxes reach Venezuelan families and that 39, part of the population receives state bonds. I do not understand why everyone says that you compare the Venezuelan minimum wage to what things cost.

RT: Did they ask you to go to dumps, hospitals, working-clbad neighborhoods?

DI: They've asked me just about anything, they need me to shoot someone who's trying to check a trash, I do not understand this level of order, I think that's They want to satisfy this need not to be deceived by the media. In addition, we must be honest: why will a tourist go to hospitals, poor neighborhoods, or a garbage dump?

They told me to go to very poor neighborhoods to see the reality of Venezuela, in jails. Until where is the level of hype? As there were no prisons and slums in all of Latin America, the United States and Europe. I can not understand this request: try to film the worst I can find in a country to tell the world that this is the country where I went for tourism.

I have shown that a tourist can go perfectly to Caracas and visit beautiful places, have fun, have a good time, as simple as that. I do not know why it bothers you so much. In general, Venezuela warmly welcomes tourists.

RT: What differences did you find when walking in working clbad neighborhoods and middle clbad neighborhoods?

D.I .: To the popular neighborhoods where I went, because, as he began to viralize this issue of videos, I asked different questions such as going to hospitals and neighborhoods. I went to a hospital, very interesting this video that I still have not downloaded on the networks.

I was surprised to find that in the working clbad neighborhoods, where I interviewed people, many have professional training, there are a lot of university students, there are cultural activities, sports .

I've seen a higher level of consciousness in the lower clbades, a higher level of culture, knowing very well what they are defending, what is happening in their country, what is of interest to the US United. as regards its natural resources.

RT: Were you surprised by what you found? How did you see the people of Caracas?

D.I: I was surprised by what I found. Anyone who goes to Caracas at that time realizes that the contrast between what the media tells us and what we find is so great …

Caracas surprises me every time I go. It is a very beautiful city, with beautiful landscapes, gigantic parks, a mountain that surrounds it and a microclimate where it is neither very hot nor too cold. I recommend it to all tourists who want to go there. It is the most beautiful city I have known so far in all the trips I have made in my life.

In Buenos Aires, the bad mood is widespread because of the deep recession and the economic crisis that the Argentineans are going through. Entire families live in the street, lying on the ground, their children asking for food or money. In Caracas, I did not see it, that does not mean that there is none, but honestly, the contrast is very strong.

RT: Is there a humanitarian crisis?

There is no doubt that this matrix of opinions is generating interest due to the fact that there is a humanitarian crisis in Caracas.

Nathali Gómez, RT.