"Revolucion Bolivariana" going nuts
"Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets of Caracas in protest at the president's decision to close the country's oldest private TV network. Mr Chavez's supporters say Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) backed a 2002 coup which briefly ousted him... " (BBC)
I remember when the 2002 coup happened. I was in Venezuela at the time, attending a National conference. I was stuck in Barquisimeto for more than expected because buses were not going back to Colombia at the time. Everyone was on strike so there was not much to do but go protest at Barquisimeto's Avenida Lara and watch the broadcast of demonstrators in the capital of the country on this channel, Radio Caracas (Chavez dubbed the images of thousands protesting as fake "copy/paste")
"The government claims that the channel is breaching the constitution by rallying support for the opposition." (BBC)
Oh boy...that really sucks. I've always thought Chavez was a nut job, specially after my stay in the country, but trying to be less biased towards the opposers, I kind of felt I should see the positive aspects of his rule. But this is absurd. What do you think? Is this justified?
I remember when the 2002 coup happened. I was in Venezuela at the time, attending a National conference. I was stuck in Barquisimeto for more than expected because buses were not going back to Colombia at the time. Everyone was on strike so there was not much to do but go protest at Barquisimeto's Avenida Lara and watch the broadcast of demonstrators in the capital of the country on this channel, Radio Caracas (Chavez dubbed the images of thousands protesting as fake "copy/paste")
"The government claims that the channel is breaching the constitution by rallying support for the opposition." (BBC)
Oh boy...that really sucks. I've always thought Chavez was a nut job, specially after my stay in the country, but trying to be less biased towards the opposers, I kind of felt I should see the positive aspects of his rule. But this is absurd. What do you think? Is this justified?
posted by Paola at 9:47 AM
3 Comments:
There's no way to justify a closing of a TV Network just because they "support the opposition" realistically meaning that they do not support the government. There's a Governmental TV Station and it's continously used by the goverment to support their own objectives, so I think the Venezuelan people have the right to have a "different" point of view.
As a Venezuelan it's very sad to see this happening, RCTV it's not only the oldest Private TV Network, but it actually started as a Radio Broadcasting Network and moved on to TV when the technology became available (while keeping it's Radio Business too), it has informed and entertained several generations of Venezuelans and now it will be closed for having a "different" point of view to the government.
It's sad to see how the "Revolution" (Or "Roboluci�n" which means "Stealing-ution") progresses in Venezuela, and it's even sadder to know for sure that as long as oil price is high, that will continue to fuel this madness.
1:01 PM
Chavez is doing a lot to consolidate the media. In addition to revoking RCTV's broadcasting license, he has also championed a "law of social responsibility in media", which is a vaguely worded statute giving him authority to impose heavy sanctions on media outlets that are "irresponsibly."
I'm writing a paper now about how Venezuelan media law is developing to resemble the laws of Chavez's favorite dictatorship: Cuba. There, the media situation is so bad that many journalists either risk their lives by publishing in underground publications or they risk their lives fleeing the country.
The rest of the world should be very concerned about this. The consolidation of media power is a step closer to dictatorship.
1:09 PM
The question I've had all along about the whole Chavez thing is: Has he really made life better for Venezuelans? (specially the underpriviledged that seem to support him the most) Beyond oil revenues, is the economy better than before?
The opinions of my relatives in Venezuela do not seem to believe things are better. They are from humble origins and have build the little they have with their hard work. Since Chavez things have only gotten worse. They are concerned.
I really hate the "perception of the masses" (the poor, uneducated, which constitute a majority in most Latin American countries) that having privileges in life excludes you from having any valuable opinions/initiatives to improve a society's quality of life. Then again, the privileged would never encourage "raising chickens in your rooftop" as a source of income (a suggestion made in his infamous Alo Presidente TV show many years ago)
This is so frustrating, I don't even know what to say anymore!
3:34 PM
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home