” Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Superman! “… Or rather Super-Mustache. In Venezuela, relates The Washington Post, a new superhero has appeared on public television. Super-Mustache, “Superbigote” in its original version, has everything of a classic cartoon hero: red tights, blue tunic and robotic arm. But this South American Superman has a peculiarity: he proudly wears a mustache which, in addition to giving him his name, makes him seriously resemble… Nicolas Maduro, the far left leader of Venezuela.
And the resemblance between the cartoon character and the head of state is not just physical. Thus, note International mail, the series frankly evokes the‘recent political history of Venezuela, presenting Venezuelan woes as American plots. In the first episode, for example, we observe a villain with indomitable blond hair orchestrating, from an oval office, a massive blackout that had effectively hit the country in 2019.
Any resemblance to reality …
While characters resembling the main political opponents of Nicolas Maduro seem to be enjoying such a crisis situation, Super-Mustache then intervenes. Obviously, the hero manages to save the country by restoring electricity, a victory which gives the series a bitter taste of propaganda, especially since it is broadcast on the public service, in the hands of the Madurists.
“Cartoons are a classic means of propaganda for authoritarian regimes,” explained the Washington Post le researcher David Smilde, specialist in Venezuela. And here the message is very clear: “The people are the victim, the United States is the bad guys and Maduro saves the day. “Especially since the appearance of Super-Mustache on Venezuelan screens coincides with a complicated period for the power of Nicolas Maduro, the victory of his party in the regional elections in November being particularly contested. The ideal moment, therefore, to engage the services of a superhero wholly committed to his cause.
