Édgar Ramírez, the Emmy-nominated Venezuelan actor, is grappling with the emotional rollercoaster of his country's uncertain future. Since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces and his subsequent transport to New York, Ramírez has been feeling a mix of emotions. While he feels relieved that the terrible dictator has been taken out, he also feels excited, fearful, and exhausted. Ramírez emphasizes that there are no good, viable options for Venezuela, stating, 'It’s a choice of bad or worse.'
The uncertainty has deepened as the power structures built by Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, remain largely intact. The Trump administration has distanced itself from Venezuela's main opposition, led by Nobel laureate María Corina Machado, and instead supported Maduro's number two, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, as the interim leader. This has led to a fractured picture on the ground, with reports of intensified crackdowns by the Caracas government on those suspected of celebrating Maduro's removal, and cautious signs of change, such as the release of several political prisoners.
Ramírez is using his new film, 'It Would Be Night in Caracas', to highlight the urgency of the situation. The drama, which won a prize at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, is set during the violent 2017 protests in Venezuela, where clashes between anti-government protestors and police forces resulted in nearly 200 deaths and thousands of injuries and arrests. The film follows a Venezuelan woman grappling with the death of her mother against the backdrop of a society in collapse, and it shows what people do when they are pushed into an impossible situation and forced to make an impossible choice.
Ramírez hopes that the film can help people understand the 25 years of destruction under the Chavista Revolution, where the government seized land, homes, and businesses, and people lost everything. However, he insists that it is not primarily a political movie, but rather a human story about the loss of humanity, the loss of identity, and the struggle to survive when there are no good, viable options. Ramírez sees the film as both a testimony and a warning, and he believes that storytelling makes you feel less alone, especially in times like these.
