Government critics and college students led protests on Monday in Venezuela after the popular cable broadcasting network RCTV was taken off the air for not broadcasting presidential speeches. Hugo Chavez’s show “Alo Chavez” airs regularly every Sunday on most television networks in the country. By law, those networks refusing to are the presidential speeches lose their licenses and are taken off the air, as seen on Monday in the case of RCTV. Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, was the center of of the revolt led by government opposition while smaller protest groups sprang up around the country. Tear gas and plastic bullets were let off into crowds of 1000+ as college students led a march towards the cable broadcasting building Canatel. The indictment of RCTV not only affected those in Venezuela; complaints poured into Venezuela from international critics of Chavez who accused him of attacking freedom of speech. To this, Chavez merely replied, “There are some bourgeois who give themselves the luxury of challenging the government. It’s their decision, not ours.”
The government ban seen in Venezuela reminds me of the many dictatorial governments we have witnessed in class throughout Latin American history. Chavez, like the military-run and church-run governments of post-colonial countries throughout Central and South America, shows an intolerance to individual thought and does not allow opposition to his leadership. By controlling broadcasting systems and forcing them to air his presidential addresses, Chaves is passive-aggressively forcing his citizens into submission. He leaves little to no room for personal thought and disregards freedom of speech by persecuting those who would rather not show support for his leadership. Though many governments in Latin America have progressed into a functioning democracy, as seen in Chile, countries like Venezuela have a long ways to go.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-venezuela-media26-2010jan26,0,4128892.story
Los Angeles Times / Venezuela / 1-31-09 / Venezuelans protest censorship of popular TV channel
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