As Hugo Chavez Murals Disappear, Venezuela Faces Questions About Real Change

Caracas, Venezuela – In a small square in central Caracas, Victor Rodriguez pauses at a giant mural of a figure draped in teal green. It’s the man he credits with giving him the opportunity to become an artist: former President Hugo Chavez. Rodriguez, who paints under the name Forastero, helped create the image for the late Venezuelan leader's birthday on July 28. He says Chavez opened up new spaces for art and culture, giving artists from poorer neighbourhoods opportunities they never had before. But today, Forastero is dismayed. He worries about the future of such art.

“Chavez represents revolution. He is anti-imperialist,” Forastero told Al Jazeera. “But now Chavez murals are disappearing.”

In recent months, Caracas has seen a transformation. Monumental images of Chavez and other figures linked to his political movement, chavismo, used to be common. But now, graffiti, murals and billboards are being painted over or taken down. The Palace of Justice, once flanked by twin portraits of Chavez and the 19th-century revolutionary Simon Bolivar, has seen both images covered up. In their place, there are new blue banners, emblazoned with the slogan "Venezuela renace" or "Venezuela reborn".

The changes come as Venezuela undergoes a period of political change after nearly three decades of chavista rule. Since the United States launched a military operation to abduct and imprison then-President Nicolas Maduro in January, the country has been under intense pressure to reimagine its socialist government.

For some Venezuelans, the cosmetic changes are happening faster than any substantial ones. Some don’t want any changes at all. Forastero sees maintaining his murals as a way of pushing back against the US influence in his government. “Now, painting Chavez is resistance,” he said.

In parts of Caracas, the smell of fresh paint lingers on walls and buildings where the new government motto "Venezuela renace" now appears. Bright blue and yellow billboards are plastered across government housing blocks and motorway roadsides, advertising the catchphrase. The "Venezuela renace" campaign began in the weeks after the country was struck by twin earthquakes on June 24. At least 6,500 people were killed. The government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez came under heavy criticism for its initial response to the disaster. It then moved to put reconstruction at the centre of its public messaging.

Orlando Perez, a political scientist at the University of North Texas at Dallas, sees the new imagery as part of Rodriguez's efforts to establish her own political identity, separate from chavismo. After all, until January, Rodriguez was Maduro's vice president. Maduro himself was Chavez's handpicked successor.

“Rodriguez is asking to be judged on [Venezuela's] reconstruction rather than on revolutionary lineage or history,” Perez said. “What makes it interesting is that it is contested.”

Perez explained that chavistas are divided over the removal of the images. In June, the governor of one Venezuelan state, Freddy Bernal, criticised efforts to replace Chavez and Maduro portraits in government institutions. But much of that internal tension predates the "Venezuela renace" campaign, according to Perez.

“The fight is about who owns chavismo, who owns the movement,” Perez told Al Jazeera.

Since 1999, Venezuela has been led by Chavez and his successors. But after almost three decades of political dominance, chavista leaders now are contending with a new factor: a US leader who seeks control over Venezuela's government. US President Donald Trump has leveraged his influence since Maduro's abduction to push Venezuela to pursue economic reforms, including greater foreign access to the country's oil and mining sectors. He has also exercised control over Venezuela's fuel exports and landed a deal last month that would give the US a majority stake in 65 billion barrels of oil reserves in the country.

Despite the US-led upheaval, many Venezuelans say they’ve noticed few changes in their everyday lives.

Javier Hernandez is a retiree who receives a state pension equivalent to just $0.14 a month. This year, he said food prices have risen, and the electricity goes out several times a day. But he welcomes the disappearance of the chavismo-themed images. He hopes political and economic changes will follow.

“These chavista figures have brought nothing but damage and hatred and bad things to our country. They don’t deserve for anyone to be looking at pictures of them,” Hernandez told Al Jazeera.

Still, their replacements leave him feeling ill at ease. Hernandez lives in La Guaira, the area hardest hit by the June earthquakes. Three of his nieces and nephews died, as well as other family members and friends. Amid the destruction, he noticed the bright blue and yellow "Venezuela renace" signs starting to rise.

“When I see or hear that phrase, it angers me because those politicians don’t live here, and they haven’t suffered the impacts of the earthquakes like we have,” Hernandez said. “People are still searching for bodies. They’re still taking people out of the rubble.”

The government has promised to rebuild La Guaira, one of Venezuela’s main tourist areas, known for its sandy beaches. It has also launched the Gran Mision Venezuela Renace, promising temporary accommodation for those displaced, new housing before the end of 2026 and subsidies for affected families buying homes. But Hernandez said La Guaira is far from being "reborn".

Political imagery has often grown more prominent in Venezuela when residents are struggling, according to Irina Troconis, author of the book The Necromantic State, about Chavez's lingering influence. Such imagery can serve as a counternarrative to real conditions on the ground, she explained.

“The imagery is used at certain times to represent supposed change that people are actually not living through at all,” Troconis said.

Rafael Araujo, a Venezuelan activist known in Caracas as Senor Papagayo, has a different view of the changing landscape. To him, there was something “jarring” about seeing chavista figures plastered across city walls, especially the leaders who have caused the country so much pain. He uses colourful, handmade kites to protest against government violence and economic policy, with his favourite carrying aloft a single word: "Freedom".

“Freedom is what all countries need. Democracy is the most balanced system a citizen can live under,” Araujo said.