The War on Democracy

The documentary is about American political intervention in Latin America. Árbenz overthrown in Guatemala in 1954, Allende overthrown in Chile in 1973, Bolivia, Venezuela. Pilger opens the record: he talks to men who worked for the CIA, to people who survived coups, to people who were tortured. Venezuela is at the centre of the film, with a detailed account of the attempted coup against Chávez in 2002 and the crowds in the street that brought him back. What Pilger argues is that people are not always beaten by power. Christopher Martin and John Pilger direct; ninety-six minutes. When it came out, the Chávez section drew criticism; writers including Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian said Pilger went too easy on him and did not ask the questions he should have. Pilger answered those criticisms with reasons of his own.