“I am freedom of expression.” La República (Lima, Peru), May 28, 2007. Not the regular cartoonist, Carlin, who is quite a bit wittier than this. The government Hugoland has pledged editorial independence for TVes, which will replace RCTV on Channel 2.
Intelectuales argentinos, contra la “desmesurada” campaña antichavista: Argentine intellectuals against “excesses” of anti-Chávez campaign (La Jornada).
Buenos Aires, 28 de mayo. Intelectuales argentinos iniciaron una campaña hoy para respaldar al gobierno de Venezuela ante la “desmesurada” acción de la prensa internacional que intentó “convencer al mundo” del presunto “cierre” de la cadena Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) en Venezuela, cuando se trató del derecho a decidir “si se continuaba o no con la concesión de un espacio radioeléctrico, recurso inalienable para usar en favor de los pueblos”.
Argentine intellectuals launched a campaign today to back the Venezuelan government against the “excessive” conduct of the international media, which tried to “convince the world” about the supposed “closing” of the RCTV network in Venezuela, which really had to do with the right to decide “whether or not to continue the concession of a portion of the spectrum, an inalienable public resource.”
El premio Nóbel de la Paz, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, el cineasta Fernando Pino Solanas, los sociólogos Atilio Borón y Alcira Argumedo, entre otras personalidades, manifestaron sus posiciones a este periódico y condenaron esta campaña “como una peligrosa escalada de desinformación”, que puede servir de plataforma a otros planes de Washington.
Peace Nobelist Adolf Pérez Esquivel, movie director Fernando “Pino” Solanas, and the sociologists Atilio Borón and Alcira Argumedo, among other personalities, explained their position to this newspaper and condemned this campaign as “a dangerous escalation of disinformation” which may serve as a platform for other plans by Washington.
I agree.
Bork Chávez for whatever else you like — not even the leftist political parties in Venezuela are going for Hugo’s “one big revolutionary party” concept, for example, which smells too much like a latter-day Bolivarian PRI, as I understand it — but this is nonsense, and the campaign is nonsense. And CNN was part of it.
Most nonsensical of all: Reporters san Frontière‘s ridiculous hyping of a Europarliament resolution on the matter as expressing a resounding Euroconsensus on and Eurocondemnation of the Bolivarian boob-tube holocaust.
See International community urged to rally to defence of Venezuela’s media after RCTV’s closure.
The international community did not really rally to the cause, now did it?
Some 700+ Europarliamentarians did not bother to debate or vote on the resolution. Out of 785. See RCTV: (Who) Really Cares (About) Television (in) Venezuela?
Wake me when Jesse Chacón breaks his promise to afford complete editorial independence to TVes, then operator that will replace RCTV. I might then get excited and start signing petitions. Until then, stop wasting my time with nonsense.
Asimismo apoyaron la carta enviada por un grupo de importantes intelectuales y artistas británicos al presidente Chávez publicada por el periódico londinense The Guardian, donde afirman que es legítima la decisión del “gobierno venezolano de no renovar la licencia emisora del canal RCTV, que expiró el 27 de mayo.
They likewise supported the letter sent by a group of important British intellectuals to Chávez, published by The Guardian (U.K.), affiring the legitimacy of the decision of “the Venezuelan government not to renew the broadcast license of RCTV, which expired on May 27.”
Añaden que “RCTV no solamente respaldó el golpe militar ilegal de abril 2002, sino que estuvo profundamente involucrada en su ejecución y dio apoyo práctico al derrocamiento del gobierno (…) Durante las 47 horas en las cuales los perpetradores del golpe estuvieron en el poder, derogaron gran parte de la Constitución democrática de Venezuela, cerraron la Asamblea Nacional, la Corte Suprema y otras instituciones del Estado.
They add that “RCTV not only backed the illegal military coup of April 2002, but was also deeply involved in its execution and gave practical support to the overthrow of the government (…) During the 47 hours in which the coup plotters were in power, they suspended a good part of the democratic constitution of Venezuela and closed the legislator, the Supreme Court and other government institutions.
Which would have disqualified Venezuela for Mercosul membership, by the way.
También se refieren a “la participación directa” de RCTV junto a los autores del golpe y llaman a apoyar la decisión venezolana advirtiendo a los lectores ingleses que imaginen “las consecuencias si se descubriera que la BBC o ITV fueran parte de un golpe contra el gobierno británico”.
They also refer to RCTV’s “direct participation” with the authors of the coup and call for supporting the Venezuelan decision, asking British readers to imagine “the consequences if it were discovered that BBC or ITV were part of a coup against the British government.”
Entre los firmantes figuran el premio Nobel de Literatura, Harold Pinter; el escritor y cineasta John Pilger; el especialista en cuestiones internacionales, Tony Benn; el escritor y periodista Tariq Ali; y la académica Julia Buxton.
Among the signatories: Nobelist Harold Pinter; writer and director John Pilger; international affairs specialist Tony Benn; writer and journalist Tariq Ali; and academician Julia Buxton.
Algo en que coinciden argentinos y británicos en este caso es destacar que a pesar de las acusaciones de los oponentes políticos al presidente Chávez, “no hay censura en Venezuela, país donde 95 por ciento de los medios de comunicación” están en manos de la oposición, con cinco de los canales de tv en manos privadas, que controlan 90 por ciento del mercado”.
One thing [the former Malvinas Islands adversaries] agree on is that, despite the accusations by political opponents of Chávez, “there is no censorship in Venezuela, a country where 95% of the media” are in the hands of the opposition, with 5 of the TV channels in private hands, controlling 90% of the market.
La totalidad “de los 118 periódicos y 706 de las 709 emisoras están en manos privadas. RCTV, lejos de haber sido silenciado, ha sido autorizado para seguir trasmitiendo por cable y vía satélite”.
All of the 188 print periodicals and 706 of 709 broadcasters are in private hands. RCTV, far from having been silenced, has been authorized to go on trasmitting by cable and satellite.
DirecTV could conceivably benefit: “You cannot get the Chávez-bashing dish without the dish!”
Pérez Esquivel apoyó la decisión del gobierno de Venezuela y recordó que fue testigo del papel de los medios venezolanos privados en el golpe de 2002, “que de acuerdo a lo actuado en las primeras horas por los usurpadores del poder, podría haber sido terrible para ese país y el mundo. Pero fue derrotado ejemplarmente por la voluntad democrática popular”.
Pérez Esquivel supported the decision and recalled that he was an eyewitness to the conduct of the private media during the 2002 coup, “which judging from the way the usurpers behaved in the first hours of the coup could have been terrible for the nation and the world. But it was defeated in exemplary fashion by the democratic popular will.”
On the Argentine peacenik:
En 1980 recibió el Premio Nobel de la Paz por su compromiso con la defensa de los derechos humanos de miles de personas en Iberoamérica. Actualmente, es uno de los más activos en las protestas contra el Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas. Una de sus últimas denuncias fue que la policía argentina está formando a niños en escuadrones paramilitares, una operación que compara con la creación en la Alemania nazi de las Juventudes Hitlerianas.
Received the Noble Peace Prize in 1980 for his commitment to the defense of human rights on behalf of thousands in Latin America. Currently one of the most active voices against the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Latest charge is that the Argentine police are forming youth into paramilitary squads, an operation he compares with the creation of the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany.
Coincidió con el cineasta Fernando Pino Solanas en afirmar que detrás de esta campaña se advierte un grave intento por desestabilizar al gobierno de Chávez. “Después de lo que sucede en Irak no podemos dejar que los empresarios de la muerte hagan su voluntad sobre el derecho a la vida”, dijo Pérez Esquivel.
Pérez agreed with Solanas in stating that a serious attempt to destabilize the Chávez government lies behind this campaign.
I am not sure how serious it is, if we assume that “seriousness” implies competence and a commitment to planning for success.
If the April 2002 coup had been serious, for example, it would have lasted more than 48 hours. And no one in Latin America will ever forget the self-satisfied smirk on the face of the State Dept. spokesman that day.
I can’t tell you which pisses me off more, as a taxpayer: The fact that they tried it in the first place — I’m against that on principle — or the fact that they not only botched it but also managed to produce a faint echo of Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” media moment in the process.
Way to deter evildoers with the spectacle of American might and competence, you bozos. Say what you like about Kissinger, he, at least, could overthrow a banana republic before lunch, then jet off for dinner and dancing with the Shah.
I mean, at least when we backed Saddam against the ayatollahs we were backing a ruthless dictator with proven staying power. A certain rough and ready competence, even a certain intelligence and a modicum of wit — I’ve read excerpts of some of Saddam’s potboiler novels and they are quite something — as a postmodern despot.
A su vez Solanas advirtió sobre “el atropello y usurpación que significa que los espacios de comunicación en toda América Latina estén en manos de empresas privadas. En este caso es evidente el papel que cumplen y se ha llegado al extremo de hacerle creer a la audiencia que Venezuela está atentando contra la libertad de expresión y no defendiéndola, al asegurar mayores espacios para el derecho a la información, objetiva, veraz y plural”.
[tktktktk]
El cineasta recordó que los espacios de las frecuencias electromagnéticas “no son propiedad de las empresas sino de los pueblos, que conceden licencias para una explotación que cumpla con la finalidad social del servicio, como un derecho que forma parte de la Carta Universal de Naciones Unidas sobre los derechos Sociales y Humanos” y tienen derecho a recuperarlas, si no cumplen esa función.
[tktktktk]
Consideró que América Latina “está siendo vulnerada por las empresas mediáticas que utilizan el chantaje, la presión, la mentira y desinformación. A través del esquema del llamado rating han logrado un sistema de degradación cultural sin precedente. Creo que buena parte de nuestros males es no haber puesto en caja a tantas corporaciones y empresas que violan los derechos de los pueblos. En Venezuela hemos visto la paciencia y justicia con que actuó el gobierno, soportando todo tipo de agresiones, incluyendo las invitaciones al magnicidio, como se ha visto en las televisoras. Debemos apoyar a este gobierno que está en peligro como lo vemos a través de esta campaña increíble y tan disciplinadamente perversa”.
[tktktktk]
La socióloga y escritora Alcira Argumedo apoya este criterio al considerar que hay dos países que en este momento “están en alto riesgo: Irán y Venezuela. Este país siempre apareció como el territorio de repliegue de Estados Unidos y la retirada de Irak puede ser altamente peligrosa y es la principal amenaza sobre Chávez, que ha mostrado una voluntad política extraordinaria para usar los recursos para la independencia y liberación real”.
[tktktktk]
Dijo que también hay que considerar que Chávez y el pueblo venezolano derrotaron golpes, paros y campañas temibles y aparecen como imbatibles para estados Unidos y sus proyectos.
[tktktktk]
Para Argumedo los dueños del poder y de esos medios de prensa “saben el peligro que significan para sus intereses las visiones alternativas y las voces múltiples en la que estamos viendo actuar a Venezuela tan creativamente. Lo hemos visto en el caso de Irak, donde esa visión alternativa destapó el horror, el crimen y desnudó la verdad sobre los supuesto defensores de la democracia”.
[tktktktk]
También el sociólogo, escritor y catedrático Atilio Borón respaldó desde Noruega, donde se encuentra, la legitimidad de la decisión venezolana y recordó que una campaña mediática como la actual ya fue utilizada “en el intento de derribar al presidente Chávez democráticamente elegido. Eso es una violación allí en Estados Unidos, en Europa. El golpe de 2002 fue preparado por los medios privados y las televisoras que fueron parte del mismo hubieran sido clausuradas de inmediato en cualquier país del mundo. El gobierno no lo hizo pero tiene el derecho de no renovar una licencia, cuya utilización ha sido tan cara para el pueblo”.
[tktktktk]
This is an interesting story to read in the Mexican press as consensus builds against Mexico’s Ley Televisa — buttressed by a World Bank study on the topic, by the way.
It’s not just a left-wing meme any more. See also Mexico: Watershed Moment for Public Media, Says El Financiero.
(Hearing) Global Voice Online’s Venezuela correspondent, as I recall, used to work for a religiously-affiliated radio network bankrolled by the charitable foundation of CANTV, in which Verizon had a majority stake until Hugo booted them out of the country — to much less consternation than we are hearing in this case, for some reason.
- Cant on CANTV
- Investor-Relations Factoid Obsolence Advisory: When Verizon Left Venezuela Behind on the Horizon
- Electoral Data-Publication Factoid-Correlation Mini-Memo to File: CANTV
- Great Minds Think Alike.
So what does GVO have to say on the matter? If anything?
During the unfolding of the parapolitics scandal in Colombia, for example, GVO has run a hard-hitting series of — regional Colombian recipes? Nothing against regional recipes, mind you — you should try by wife’s carne seca e abóbora casserole sometime. To die for.
As it happens, GVO appears to have someone else doing Venezuela coverage now. The latest posting: Venezuela: Bloggers Mobilize For and Against the End of Transmission of Radio Caracas Television.
If past postings are any indications, I would expect this “balanced” post to promote the view that Venezuelans are “deeply divided” — “polarized,” even — over the issue by citing an equal number of blogs on each side. Folks I have talked to say that actually RCTV has very little support outside of the handful of RCTV employees you saw on the BBC today, getting gassed by riot police.
This is a standard GVO meme. Had it been around to blog the Battle of the Little Bighorn, it would probably have reported it as a slow-moving defensive slog decided by a last-minute field goal.
But I will have a read when I get a chance.
In the meantime, please add me to the third column: bloggers mobilizing to register our indifference to what we consider a transparently manufactured tempest in a teapot.
Because you know what? Chávez actually thrives politically on the sense of crisis. As does Fidel.
Ratchet down the noise and people would start paying attention to the mundane stuff like whether the garbage actually gets collected on time, I would bet you.
Best way to cut the revolutionary vanguard down to size, I think: Put them in charge of fixing potholes.
What I would really like to know, for example, is what the Great Transandean Bolivarian Socialist juggernaut means to do about the narcotraffic in the Venezuelan Heart of Darkness.
Can they manage to do anything? Could they manage if they wanted to? And if they could, would a Bolivarian jihad against Bolivian marching powder contribute anything to driving up the price of crack in Bed-Stuy?
Not that driving up the price of cigarettes in NYC has helped me to quit, mind you. But it might prevent kids from getting started. So I’m for it. I’ll see you out at the Bloomberg Bucket.
Because personally, as a Latin American expat, I am a lot less worried in my day-to-day existence about Che Guevara T-shirts, flag-waving slogan chanters, and whether or not I can exercise my God-given right to watch Big Brother Brasil than I am about armed to the teeth urban drug gangs tweaked out on crack.
My father-in-law just had a bad arrastão scare on Av. Ipiringa in São Paulo, for example.
I vaguely remember Chávez saying at some point that his agrarian reform was expropriating latifundio controlled by narcos, but I never saw anyone really following up or reality-testing that claim.
The New Market Machines 