August 13, 2025 • 21 mins
In this conversation, Franklin Camargo shares his personal journey from Venezuela to the United States, discussing the dangers of socialism and the importance of capitalism. He reflects on his experiences growing up in a socialist regime, the impact of his family's values, and his political activism. Camargo emphasizes the need for individualism and self-reliance, urging listeners to be aware of the threats posed by socialist ideologies in America today. The Karol Markowicz Show is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Wednesday & Friday.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi, Welcome back to the Carol Marcowitz show him Heart Radio.
My guest today is political commentator at Preger You Franklin
to Marco. Hi, Franklin, So nice to have you on.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hi, thank you for having me. So happy to chat
with you.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So we met at an event a few months ago,
a Pregger You event, which I love Preger You. I
love Dennis Prager, I love everything Prager You does. And
I heard that you were born in Venezuela and you
were working at Preger You as a political commentator. Could
you have picked a better time to be doing this? Like,
do you feel like you hit the exact right spot
(00:38):
in America to be talking about socialism?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yes, I did. You know, it's actually perfect timing. It's
very concerning, of course, but it's perfect timing. You know,
when I first arrived to the US, I had to
escape Venezuela for because I was being persecuted. I was
accused of being a terrorist. Of course I was not,
and I was granted asylum during the first from a
ministrl administration. When I first arrived, you know, my first
(01:03):
thought was I'm in America. You know, I love this country.
I'm free. I need socialism. You know, I I destrated.
I left it behind. Now I only have to focus
on my career. I like politics, I like talking about this.
Let's go to college. But I'm so glad that I'm
going to be in a country where people embrace freedom,
(01:23):
embrace American values, and they're going to reject socialism always
my kids, they're not going to have to deal with
the things that I had to deal growing up in Venezuela. Right. Yeah, Well,
I had been here for a few months and actually
the fourth of July was approaching and I was working
at a fast food restaurant as a this washer because
(01:45):
back then I didn't speak English, so I was just
in the kitch musical translator and to communicate myself as
good as I could. And I was able to talk
to a girl and I was asking her in a
very bad English, wars none now, now your English is great,
thank you? And I was asking, what are you going
to do on the fourth of July? What are you doing?
I was excited it was my first time. And she
(02:06):
said nothing because I hate America. And I was like,
I didn't really understand. Why would someone who is young,
who have freedom, who have so many opportunities and blessings here.
Why would someone like her hate America? Well, later I
learned that actually young people or a lot of young
(02:28):
people here embrace socialist ideas. They reject American values, they
reject free speech, they don't like capitalism. And you know,
when we take a look at what's going on right
now in New York City, I think it's a proof
that actually socialism is in fact a threat. So, and
I'm a prager. You what a better way to give
(02:50):
back to this country that gave me freedom, that saved
my life? Literally? What was way to pay that back
than to explain to young people in what's so socialism
could do to your country into your life.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So you're sitting for people who are listening to this
on audio. He's sitting in front of a sign that
says capitalism makes, socialism takes How do you explain that
to young people?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yes, so this is very simple. Right. Socialism is an
ideology that wants to control the means of production. And
people generally think that just nationalizing big industries and big businesses.
But it's gonna take your money too, and it's gonna
go after you. My family went from being a middle
(03:35):
class family a small business owner. My dad had a
small makeup store in a mole, and we went from
a family that was coming to the US on vacation.
I went to Disney when I was six years old,
and actually that trip changed my life forever because it
showed me what freedom looked like when I went back
(03:56):
to Venezuela where I was living, because we first only
came for tourism, and we went from being that type
of family to fifteen years later, ten years later being
concerned about food. And I'm not exaggerating. My dad lost
over thirty pounds. The only meat we could find was
only for my brother and I. My parents sacrificed themselves
(04:20):
and my dad only had a small store, you know.
But the government was regulating prices. They destroyed the economy.
We had the highest inflation in the world for a
few years. Women were not going to buy makeup. They
were concerned about feeding their kids. So that's what socialism
(04:40):
did to us. They took our money, they took our wealth,
they took our freedom, they took our happiness. And capitalism creates,
yes it does, and not because the government is going
to provide anything that you need for you. No, it
only gives you freedom and property right. So you with
(05:01):
your life, you can make choices, you can make decisions,
work really hard. You have the right to pursue your
own happiness, as the Decoration of Independence says, and you
can keep the fruit of your labor, which is essential
for a free society, but also for a moral society. Yeah,
because when we talk about socialism, pretty often we hear
it doesn't work, and that's completely right. It doesn't work
(05:24):
if you want prosperity, but it's also in moral because
it doesn't allow individuals to keep the fruits of their labor.
I think that's a very moral idea. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Absolutely, Your story really runs parallel to mine. My great
grandfather had a bakery in the Soviet Union that became
illegal to have private enterprise. He was sent to a gulag.
But you know, that's the beginning of the socialist journey.
When by the time it got to Venezuela, it kind
of looked different, but it had the same hallmarks of
(05:57):
destroying people's lives. But I was thinking, you're fairly young.
I think you're in your twenties, right. Yes, I had
visited Venezuela when I was a child before the revolution,
and it was really a wonderful place. We went to
like Kanaima. That's there was a state park there and
it was amazing. And my first time, I think Everett
(06:17):
a pool was at Caracas Hilton and we loved it.
But the revolution happened, what.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Year, nineteen ninety nine, ninety.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Nine, So you are not born or you're little when
you're not born yet. Sorry I'm not great at math,
So you're not born yet. So you had never seen
Venezuela that prospered. It was always a socialist country in
your life, right.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yes, totally right. So when Chavis won the election nineteen
ninety nine, I was one year old, so yes, I was.
I had recently I was born, but I didn't actually
have any short memories. But it happened. But I grew
up in a country where, of course, in the first
few years, was still decent. And I'm talking about third
(07:06):
world country. I'm not talking about the US standards. I'm
talking about a third world country standard. It was still,
you know, manageable. You could survive because you don't destroy
a country just in two weeks, country such as Venezuela.
Just to put into perspective, Venezuela in the nineteen fifties,
had the fourth largest economy according to GDP. It was
(07:31):
richer than Chiller, richer than China, richer than Japan. So
you don't destroy a country just in two weeks, right.
So but I grew up in a country where, you know,
I always remember my mom telling me like, things are
getting bad, are heading into the round direction. And one
of the first memories that I have was that I
(07:51):
came to the US. I was six years old, and
I was like, okay, I don't know what they're doing.
I'm not politics. I want this, but they're doing something different.
It's more organized, it's cleaner, people are more successful. The
airport looked way more new than the one that was
(08:13):
in Venezuela. The cars, everyone had a nice car, of course,
just you know, maybe it was a Toyota, it was
a Kia, was an a Lamborghini. But just a Kia
or a Toyota that was, you know, one or two
years old was new to me because you don't see
those cars in Venezuela as often as you would see
them here. So I had that impression that the US
(08:38):
was a successful country, way more successful than my country.
And then growing up getting a little bit hitting. As
a teenager, I really hated and despise how the government
would attack rich people, wealthy people, businessmen that at the end,
they're not talking about the top one percent. They're talking
(08:58):
about productive people, and they're gonna go after you. Because
when we talk about property rights, and when the left
also talks about property rights, let's always remember that property
rights start with yourself, start with your own body, because
you create with your mind, you create with your labor,
you create with your force. So you know, the government
(09:21):
nationalized a lot of industries, they expanded the world for
a state, everything is gonna be free. They censored a lot.
So I said I have to do something, and I
decided to do it and I paid the price for that.
So what did you do? So first I started to study.
My dad is an economist, so I read Annest Smith,
(09:44):
I read Milton Friedman, I read Ambrandt, which is one
of my biggest intellectual influences. And then when I was sixteen,
I joined a political movement. It was called ben Venezuela,
and I did everything that you could think of, you know.
I led political protests, I gave speeches, I went to
public colleges to speak out about capitalism. I even had
(10:08):
like a speech or a presentation that was called defending capitalism,
and I always explained, this is not just about removing dictatorship.
This is about implementing the right ideas, because you could
replace a socialist politician for another one, and what's the
point about that, you know? So I did that for
a few years until in my college was where I
(10:32):
was in med school. I was in my third year
of med school, because in Venezuela, you don't really have
to do undergraduate degree. You just finished high school. You
go to med school, and that's how it works. It
is faster that way. And I was in the middle
of my career. I had debate with a professor and
in that discussion, that debate, they knew me already. They
(10:53):
didn't like me. I had issues in the past. They said,
you're expelled if you don't like this. College is a
socialist college. If you don't like it, go to Harvard.
Know that Harvard is speech left the college. They have
no idea. I didn't know either, by the way, and
they said, they said go to college, to go to Harvard,
(11:15):
and I got expelled from college. My case was very
well known among Venezuelans, and they even had a press conference,
held a press conference talking about my case, and they said, yes,
we expelled Franklin Camargo, but the reason why we did
it is because he wanted to set our classrooms on fire.
(11:36):
He wanted to attack our professors, and he wanted to
attack our students. He's been used by the US government
and the right wing movements in Veezuela to attack to
attack us. So my cousin, he was in prison. So
the advice I got from my family and also for
from my political allies was to live as soon as
(11:56):
I could, and that's what I did.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show. Were your parents dissuading
you at all from speaking out? Were they saying like,
this is just unsafe, please don't do this. Like my mom,
I mean, you know, from the Soviet Union, she didn't
like when I was writing anti Obama articles during his
(12:18):
administration because she was like, do you have to pick
on the president? Like can you just be nice? Like
why did she didn't like him or anything, But she
just was worried that me speaking out against Barack Obama
would cause me problems, and I imagine in Venezuela that's
even a little bit worse.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yes, totally. So my mom was concerned, especially about the
protests in every you know, when there are daily protests
in Venezuela every day, the government would kill I'm not
even talking about you know, in prison and the government
would kill a few students every single day when there
are protests. So my mom would try to tell me,
(12:55):
you know, to be more careful, not to protest. But
when it comes to she knew it wasn't me. She
knew that I had this energy or this idea that
I really wanted to do. And when she would try
to make myself think twice about doing something, I would
tell her, so what's the point. And we're already here,
(13:19):
We're going towards a miserable life. You know, we're concerned
about having food. This is not Afria country. So what
am I gonna do? I'm I'm just going to give up. Well,
I'm here, I'm gonna try to fight my best and
if no one does anything, then we're always going to
be like this. Right. She understood that at the end,
but she would be concerned all the time, all the time.
(13:41):
But what maybe she doesn't really know. Is that I
also learned that from her because when I was younger,
way younger, she would go to protest. She would protest
the government very peacefully. Of course, she would exercise her
right a free speech. So at the y and I
am who I am because of my parents as well,
(14:02):
even though they were extremely concerned about the situation while
I was a political activist.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Interesting. Yeah, so they I mean, it's like they kind
of gave you the building blocks. But it's very hard
to watch your child put themselves at risk anyway, So
I understand them, yes.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
One hundred percent. And actually they also taught me that
love that I have and I feel for America. Their
honeymoon was in Washington, DC. Wow. Yes, they flew from
Caracas to Washington, d C. And you know, they would
always talk about how great America is and we would
have some American flags in our home in Venezuela. So
(14:43):
they taught me and they influenced me a lot. Of course,
then I learned on my own, but like they made
a huge impact on me.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
What do you worry about?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
So on a political level, of course, I'm worried, very
worried about socialism, it's a real threat. You know. What
you hear a lot sometimes even about refugees or people
who kept socialist countries, is you know, the Democrats or
the left here is not the same as it is
in our own countries. And even though I could understand
(15:16):
that the Democrats or some Democrats, in the entire history
of the Democratic Party, since Sandra Jackson has been changing
a lot, there has been different types of politicians and governments.
I can understand that not all of them are Javists
or fideal Custure. But for sure all who are like
Fidal Custo or Chavists are within the Democratic.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Party, right, absolutely, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Would say all Democrats, communists or socialists, perhaps not all
of them, but all communists and socialists or in the
Democratic Party is just a fact. Some concern about socialism
because it can destroy any country. It would take New
York as an example. Can a major actually destroy the
entire countries He's going to be able to implement all
(15:59):
the how Many's ideas? Maybe not, But the fact that
the most iconic, important city in the greatest nation on
earth is feeling attracted to those ideas is a threat
in itself, and you should concern and from a personal level,
those are my political concerns, of course are very personal,
but from a personal level, I think socialism also traumatized
(16:24):
my life in a sense that every day I'm concerned
about money, in the sense that I always try to
save as much money as I can because the experience
I got from my family, and I think that's also
a teaching that I can provide to individuals and to people,
to your audience about what socialism does to you. It
(16:45):
helped me realize that when the economy goes bad, when
socialists are in power, even if you have savings, even
if you have a good job, even if you have
a career, even if you are talented, really socialism is
going to hit you. It's going to hit you as well.
So from a personal level, actually, I'm always concerned about
saving money, making as much money as I can. I'm
(17:08):
really concerned about that, not because I'm the most greedy person,
but because i'm that threat of a socialist government, you know,
taking away or money or wealth or actually just running
the economy badly so we have a very high inflation
and destroy our pockets. Is there is always there, So
(17:30):
I'm always concerned about that.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Yeah, once you've been hungry, I think it's very hard
to forget what that feels like. And you know, the
irony is that because you're so worried about that, it's
going to cause you to do better. It's going to
propel you forward. It's a very good trait because you know,
they always say that kids are rich parents for example,
(17:52):
they don't work as hard because they don't never have to.
And that kind of thing is it's hard to teach.
It's hard to instill in people who have always been comfortable.
So I mean, I understand that that's a worry for you,
but I hope you know that that's going to be
a very very good thing for you going forward in
your life.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Yes, And another teaching that has given me is that
I'm actually I consider myself someone who is grateful, and
I try to be as grateful as I can. You know,
I'm someone ambitious and I think every individual should should
be in a very healthy and rational way, of course,
But at the same time, I genuinely believe that if
you have food, you have a roof, you have family,
(18:34):
you are healthy, and you have freedom, you have all
reasons to be unhappy. Really, anything else that comes with
that is extra fight for it. But if you have
what I just mentioned, you have no reasons to be unhappy.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I love that. What advice would you give your sixteen
year old self if you had to kind of do
it all over again.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
You know, it's funny that you actually asked about that
specific age, because it's.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Probably the age that's the right age.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Most was the most important age of my life because
it's when I joined a political movement and when I
tried to involve myself in politics when I was in Venezuela.
So all the all the decisions that I made when
I was that age of that age took me to
where I am right now. So the advice I would
I would say, is do what you're thinking about doing.
(19:27):
Do it. Be brave. It's gonna be worth it. You're
gonna go through the worst experiences of your life, one
of the worst things that a human being could go through,
but it's gonna be worth it. And you know that
what you are doing is right. And if you if
what you are doing is right, anything that comes with that,
even when it's bad, it's okay, it's worth it.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
I love that, and I've loved this conversation. I think
you're really a star, and I think you're going to
be making some amazing arguments for saying and normal people
in America, and I hope they listen to you, because
if not, we're really in trouble. I think in a
lot of places, I think the charismatic left is I
(20:11):
don't say tricking people into voting for them, but definitely
moving them in that direction. And it's absolutely a concern
to me and us. Here with your best tip for
my listeners on how they can improve their lives.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Look, try to cure about yourself, think about yourself, and
then of course think about your family. Be concerned about
your neighbors. That's good, we're a community. But I think
when the individual is as strong, when the individual has
self esteem, the government is smaller. So even from a
personal level, try to work as hard as you can.
(20:48):
This life is to be productive, it is to be happy.
It's to do what we like. And when you do
something that you feel passionate for, yes you're gonna be
tired or you're going to love what you do. So
that would be my advice. Do something that you like,
do something that you love, and also try to think
about yourself as you as an individual. You shouldn't give
(21:11):
up your lives for others because the government told you
to do so. You should do it voluntarily if you want,
for the people that you love. So try to have
self esteem, work on yourself, and do something that you love.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I love that, I love that individualism. Here is Franklin Camargo.
Check him out at prager. You thank you so much
for coming on.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Franklin, my pleasure. Thank you
Hi, Welcome back to the Carol Marcowitz show him Heart Radio.
My guest today is political commentator at Preger You Franklin
to Marco. Hi, Franklin, So nice to have you on.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hi, thank you for having me. So happy to chat
with you.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So we met at an event a few months ago,
a Pregger You event, which I love Preger You. I
love Dennis Prager, I love everything Prager You does. And
I heard that you were born in Venezuela and you
were working at Preger You as a political commentator. Could
you have picked a better time to be doing this? Like,
do you feel like you hit the exact right spot
(00:38):
in America to be talking about socialism?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yes, I did. You know, it's actually perfect timing. It's
very concerning, of course, but it's perfect timing. You know,
when I first arrived to the US, I had to
escape Venezuela for because I was being persecuted. I was
accused of being a terrorist. Of course I was not,
and I was granted asylum during the first from a
ministrl administration. When I first arrived, you know, my first
(01:03):
thought was I'm in America. You know, I love this country.
I'm free. I need socialism. You know, I I destrated.
I left it behind. Now I only have to focus
on my career. I like politics, I like talking about this.
Let's go to college. But I'm so glad that I'm
going to be in a country where people embrace freedom,
(01:23):
embrace American values, and they're going to reject socialism always
my kids, they're not going to have to deal with
the things that I had to deal growing up in Venezuela. Right. Yeah, Well,
I had been here for a few months and actually
the fourth of July was approaching and I was working
at a fast food restaurant as a this washer because
(01:45):
back then I didn't speak English, so I was just
in the kitch musical translator and to communicate myself as
good as I could. And I was able to talk
to a girl and I was asking her in a
very bad English, wars none now, now your English is great,
thank you? And I was asking, what are you going
to do on the fourth of July? What are you doing?
I was excited it was my first time. And she
(02:06):
said nothing because I hate America. And I was like,
I didn't really understand. Why would someone who is young,
who have freedom, who have so many opportunities and blessings here.
Why would someone like her hate America? Well, later I
learned that actually young people or a lot of young
(02:28):
people here embrace socialist ideas. They reject American values, they
reject free speech, they don't like capitalism. And you know,
when we take a look at what's going on right
now in New York City, I think it's a proof
that actually socialism is in fact a threat. So, and
I'm a prager. You what a better way to give
(02:50):
back to this country that gave me freedom, that saved
my life? Literally? What was way to pay that back
than to explain to young people in what's so socialism
could do to your country into your life.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So you're sitting for people who are listening to this
on audio. He's sitting in front of a sign that
says capitalism makes, socialism takes How do you explain that
to young people?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yes, so this is very simple. Right. Socialism is an
ideology that wants to control the means of production. And
people generally think that just nationalizing big industries and big businesses.
But it's gonna take your money too, and it's gonna
go after you. My family went from being a middle
(03:35):
class family a small business owner. My dad had a
small makeup store in a mole, and we went from
a family that was coming to the US on vacation.
I went to Disney when I was six years old,
and actually that trip changed my life forever because it
showed me what freedom looked like when I went back
(03:56):
to Venezuela where I was living, because we first only
came for tourism, and we went from being that type
of family to fifteen years later, ten years later being
concerned about food. And I'm not exaggerating. My dad lost
over thirty pounds. The only meat we could find was
only for my brother and I. My parents sacrificed themselves
(04:20):
and my dad only had a small store, you know.
But the government was regulating prices. They destroyed the economy.
We had the highest inflation in the world for a
few years. Women were not going to buy makeup. They
were concerned about feeding their kids. So that's what socialism
(04:40):
did to us. They took our money, they took our wealth,
they took our freedom, they took our happiness. And capitalism creates,
yes it does, and not because the government is going
to provide anything that you need for you. No, it
only gives you freedom and property right. So you with
(05:01):
your life, you can make choices, you can make decisions,
work really hard. You have the right to pursue your
own happiness, as the Decoration of Independence says, and you
can keep the fruit of your labor, which is essential
for a free society, but also for a moral society. Yeah,
because when we talk about socialism, pretty often we hear
it doesn't work, and that's completely right. It doesn't work
(05:24):
if you want prosperity, but it's also in moral because
it doesn't allow individuals to keep the fruits of their labor.
I think that's a very moral idea. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Absolutely, Your story really runs parallel to mine. My great
grandfather had a bakery in the Soviet Union that became
illegal to have private enterprise. He was sent to a gulag.
But you know, that's the beginning of the socialist journey.
When by the time it got to Venezuela, it kind
of looked different, but it had the same hallmarks of
(05:57):
destroying people's lives. But I was thinking, you're fairly young.
I think you're in your twenties, right. Yes, I had
visited Venezuela when I was a child before the revolution,
and it was really a wonderful place. We went to
like Kanaima. That's there was a state park there and
it was amazing. And my first time, I think Everett
(06:17):
a pool was at Caracas Hilton and we loved it.
But the revolution happened, what.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Year, nineteen ninety nine, ninety.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Nine, So you are not born or you're little when
you're not born yet. Sorry I'm not great at math,
So you're not born yet. So you had never seen
Venezuela that prospered. It was always a socialist country in
your life, right.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yes, totally right. So when Chavis won the election nineteen
ninety nine, I was one year old, so yes, I was.
I had recently I was born, but I didn't actually
have any short memories. But it happened. But I grew
up in a country where, of course, in the first
few years, was still decent. And I'm talking about third
(07:06):
world country. I'm not talking about the US standards. I'm
talking about a third world country standard. It was still,
you know, manageable. You could survive because you don't destroy
a country just in two weeks, country such as Venezuela.
Just to put into perspective, Venezuela in the nineteen fifties,
had the fourth largest economy according to GDP. It was
(07:31):
richer than Chiller, richer than China, richer than Japan. So
you don't destroy a country just in two weeks, right.
So but I grew up in a country where, you know,
I always remember my mom telling me like, things are
getting bad, are heading into the round direction. And one
of the first memories that I have was that I
(07:51):
came to the US. I was six years old, and
I was like, okay, I don't know what they're doing.
I'm not politics. I want this, but they're doing something different.
It's more organized, it's cleaner, people are more successful. The
airport looked way more new than the one that was
(08:13):
in Venezuela. The cars, everyone had a nice car, of course,
just you know, maybe it was a Toyota, it was
a Kia, was an a Lamborghini. But just a Kia
or a Toyota that was, you know, one or two
years old was new to me because you don't see
those cars in Venezuela as often as you would see
them here. So I had that impression that the US
(08:38):
was a successful country, way more successful than my country.
And then growing up getting a little bit hitting. As
a teenager, I really hated and despise how the government
would attack rich people, wealthy people, businessmen that at the end,
they're not talking about the top one percent. They're talking
(08:58):
about productive people, and they're gonna go after you. Because
when we talk about property rights, and when the left
also talks about property rights, let's always remember that property
rights start with yourself, start with your own body, because
you create with your mind, you create with your labor,
you create with your force. So you know, the government
(09:21):
nationalized a lot of industries, they expanded the world for
a state, everything is gonna be free. They censored a lot.
So I said I have to do something, and I
decided to do it and I paid the price for that.
So what did you do? So first I started to study.
My dad is an economist, so I read Annest Smith,
(09:44):
I read Milton Friedman, I read Ambrandt, which is one
of my biggest intellectual influences. And then when I was sixteen,
I joined a political movement. It was called ben Venezuela,
and I did everything that you could think of, you know.
I led political protests, I gave speeches, I went to
public colleges to speak out about capitalism. I even had
(10:08):
like a speech or a presentation that was called defending capitalism,
and I always explained, this is not just about removing dictatorship.
This is about implementing the right ideas, because you could
replace a socialist politician for another one, and what's the
point about that, you know? So I did that for
a few years until in my college was where I
(10:32):
was in med school. I was in my third year
of med school, because in Venezuela, you don't really have
to do undergraduate degree. You just finished high school. You
go to med school, and that's how it works. It
is faster that way. And I was in the middle
of my career. I had debate with a professor and
in that discussion, that debate, they knew me already. They
(10:53):
didn't like me. I had issues in the past. They said,
you're expelled if you don't like this. College is a
socialist college. If you don't like it, go to Harvard.
Know that Harvard is speech left the college. They have
no idea. I didn't know either, by the way, and
they said, they said go to college, to go to Harvard,
(11:15):
and I got expelled from college. My case was very
well known among Venezuelans, and they even had a press conference,
held a press conference talking about my case, and they said, yes,
we expelled Franklin Camargo, but the reason why we did
it is because he wanted to set our classrooms on fire.
(11:36):
He wanted to attack our professors, and he wanted to
attack our students. He's been used by the US government
and the right wing movements in Veezuela to attack to
attack us. So my cousin, he was in prison. So
the advice I got from my family and also for
from my political allies was to live as soon as
(11:56):
I could, and that's what I did.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show. Were your parents dissuading
you at all from speaking out? Were they saying like,
this is just unsafe, please don't do this. Like my mom,
I mean, you know, from the Soviet Union, she didn't
like when I was writing anti Obama articles during his
(12:18):
administration because she was like, do you have to pick
on the president? Like can you just be nice? Like
why did she didn't like him or anything, But she
just was worried that me speaking out against Barack Obama
would cause me problems, and I imagine in Venezuela that's
even a little bit worse.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yes, totally. So my mom was concerned, especially about the
protests in every you know, when there are daily protests
in Venezuela every day, the government would kill I'm not
even talking about you know, in prison and the government
would kill a few students every single day when there
are protests. So my mom would try to tell me,
(12:55):
you know, to be more careful, not to protest. But
when it comes to she knew it wasn't me. She
knew that I had this energy or this idea that
I really wanted to do. And when she would try
to make myself think twice about doing something, I would
tell her, so what's the point. And we're already here,
(13:19):
We're going towards a miserable life. You know, we're concerned
about having food. This is not Afria country. So what
am I gonna do? I'm I'm just going to give up. Well,
I'm here, I'm gonna try to fight my best and
if no one does anything, then we're always going to
be like this. Right. She understood that at the end,
but she would be concerned all the time, all the time.
(13:41):
But what maybe she doesn't really know. Is that I
also learned that from her because when I was younger,
way younger, she would go to protest. She would protest
the government very peacefully. Of course, she would exercise her
right a free speech. So at the y and I
am who I am because of my parents as well,
(14:02):
even though they were extremely concerned about the situation while
I was a political activist.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Interesting. Yeah, so they I mean, it's like they kind
of gave you the building blocks. But it's very hard
to watch your child put themselves at risk anyway, So
I understand them, yes.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
One hundred percent. And actually they also taught me that
love that I have and I feel for America. Their
honeymoon was in Washington, DC. Wow. Yes, they flew from
Caracas to Washington, d C. And you know, they would
always talk about how great America is and we would
have some American flags in our home in Venezuela. So
(14:43):
they taught me and they influenced me a lot. Of course,
then I learned on my own, but like they made
a huge impact on me.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
What do you worry about?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
So on a political level, of course, I'm worried, very
worried about socialism, it's a real threat. You know. What
you hear a lot sometimes even about refugees or people
who kept socialist countries, is you know, the Democrats or
the left here is not the same as it is
in our own countries. And even though I could understand
(15:16):
that the Democrats or some Democrats, in the entire history
of the Democratic Party, since Sandra Jackson has been changing
a lot, there has been different types of politicians and governments.
I can understand that not all of them are Javists
or fideal Custure. But for sure all who are like
Fidal Custo or Chavists are within the Democratic.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Party, right, absolutely, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Would say all Democrats, communists or socialists, perhaps not all
of them, but all communists and socialists or in the
Democratic Party is just a fact. Some concern about socialism
because it can destroy any country. It would take New
York as an example. Can a major actually destroy the
entire countries He's going to be able to implement all
(15:59):
the how Many's ideas? Maybe not, But the fact that
the most iconic, important city in the greatest nation on
earth is feeling attracted to those ideas is a threat
in itself, and you should concern and from a personal level,
those are my political concerns, of course are very personal,
but from a personal level, I think socialism also traumatized
(16:24):
my life in a sense that every day I'm concerned
about money, in the sense that I always try to
save as much money as I can because the experience
I got from my family, and I think that's also
a teaching that I can provide to individuals and to people,
to your audience about what socialism does to you. It
(16:45):
helped me realize that when the economy goes bad, when
socialists are in power, even if you have savings, even
if you have a good job, even if you have
a career, even if you are talented, really socialism is
going to hit you. It's going to hit you as well.
So from a personal level, actually, I'm always concerned about
saving money, making as much money as I can. I'm
(17:08):
really concerned about that, not because I'm the most greedy person,
but because i'm that threat of a socialist government, you know,
taking away or money or wealth or actually just running
the economy badly so we have a very high inflation
and destroy our pockets. Is there is always there, So
(17:30):
I'm always concerned about that.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Yeah, once you've been hungry, I think it's very hard
to forget what that feels like. And you know, the
irony is that because you're so worried about that, it's
going to cause you to do better. It's going to
propel you forward. It's a very good trait because you know,
they always say that kids are rich parents for example,
(17:52):
they don't work as hard because they don't never have to.
And that kind of thing is it's hard to teach.
It's hard to instill in people who have always been comfortable.
So I mean, I understand that that's a worry for you,
but I hope you know that that's going to be
a very very good thing for you going forward in
your life.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Yes, And another teaching that has given me is that
I'm actually I consider myself someone who is grateful, and
I try to be as grateful as I can. You know,
I'm someone ambitious and I think every individual should should
be in a very healthy and rational way, of course,
But at the same time, I genuinely believe that if
you have food, you have a roof, you have family,
(18:34):
you are healthy, and you have freedom, you have all
reasons to be unhappy. Really, anything else that comes with
that is extra fight for it. But if you have
what I just mentioned, you have no reasons to be unhappy.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I love that. What advice would you give your sixteen
year old self if you had to kind of do
it all over again.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
You know, it's funny that you actually asked about that
specific age, because it's.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Probably the age that's the right age.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Most was the most important age of my life because
it's when I joined a political movement and when I
tried to involve myself in politics when I was in Venezuela.
So all the all the decisions that I made when
I was that age of that age took me to
where I am right now. So the advice I would
I would say, is do what you're thinking about doing.
(19:27):
Do it. Be brave. It's gonna be worth it. You're
gonna go through the worst experiences of your life, one
of the worst things that a human being could go through,
but it's gonna be worth it. And you know that
what you are doing is right. And if you if
what you are doing is right, anything that comes with that,
even when it's bad, it's okay, it's worth it.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
I love that, and I've loved this conversation. I think
you're really a star, and I think you're going to
be making some amazing arguments for saying and normal people
in America, and I hope they listen to you, because
if not, we're really in trouble. I think in a
lot of places, I think the charismatic left is I
(20:11):
don't say tricking people into voting for them, but definitely
moving them in that direction. And it's absolutely a concern
to me and us. Here with your best tip for
my listeners on how they can improve their lives.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Look, try to cure about yourself, think about yourself, and
then of course think about your family. Be concerned about
your neighbors. That's good, we're a community. But I think
when the individual is as strong, when the individual has
self esteem, the government is smaller. So even from a
personal level, try to work as hard as you can.
(20:48):
This life is to be productive, it is to be happy.
It's to do what we like. And when you do
something that you feel passionate for, yes you're gonna be
tired or you're going to love what you do. So
that would be my advice. Do something that you like,
do something that you love, and also try to think
about yourself as you as an individual. You shouldn't give
(21:11):
up your lives for others because the government told you
to do so. You should do it voluntarily if you want,
for the people that you love. So try to have
self esteem, work on yourself, and do something that you love.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I love that, I love that individualism. Here is Franklin Camargo.
Check him out at prager. You thank you so much
for coming on.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Franklin, my pleasure. Thank you
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