Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday launched his own television show on a public channel, a year before the next presidential elections are due.

"We are starting a new stage of communications," the Socialist leader said, as he introduced the new show called "With Maduro".

Reaching out to the people of Venezuela, Maduro is following in the footsteps of his predecessor and mentor, the late revolutionary Hugo Chavez, who was president from 1999 to 2013. Chavez hosted a Sunday program called "Alo, presidente" through which he communicated his policies and activities every Sunday.

During the first broadcast of the program, Maduro presented a female artificial intelligence avatar nicknamed "Sira", in a nod to "Siri" from Apple. The avatar appeared to be a jab at recent accusations that the Venezuelan government had allegedly used artificial intelligence in disinformation campaigns.

Excelente el primer programa: “Con Maduro +”, una nueva etapa de renovación de las fórmulas comunicacionales y la conexión permanente con el pueblo. La Revolución ideológica, ética y de conciencia. Es mucho lo que hemos hecho a lo largo de estos 10 años y los que faltan. pic.twitter.com/RnjHQsm1Lg

— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) April 18, 2023

During the show, which was live, the Venezuelan President also took a call from a female viewer.

Maduro is no stranger to being in contact with the public. In addition to his regular and frequent appearances performing presidential duties, between 2013 and 2017, he hosted a Sunday program called "In contact with Maduro."

In his program, Maduro criticized the country’s opposition press for lying about reality in Venezuela.

Among the personal stories he recounted were his humble origins in a low-income neighborhood in Caracas and his musical tastes, according to the Associated Press.

#EnVivo 📹 | Transmisión de la primera edición del programa "Con Maduro +". https://t.co/j8ev8wsqRq

— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) April 17, 2023

The program was renamed "Sundays with Maduro" in 2017 and then dropped the same year.

The Venezuelan President also had a famous salsa show between January and December 2017, in which he would mix politics with music and even dance in front of the camera with his wife, Cilia Flores.

"They say that because I dance salsa, I'm crazy. Ah, but if Obama dances, we say 'He's not crazy, he's cool,'" he said at the time, alluding to the then-American President.

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