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Editorial Commentary
VenEconomy: When there is no law
Yesterday (24/10) was the “grand finale” of the National Assembly’s third “discussion” of the amendments to 33 articles of the 1999 Constitution proposed by Hugo Chávez. Congress also approved changes to 36 other articles that it decided to stick in at the last moment. All this following a procedure that is completely unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary.
Among the last articles approved are numbers 337 and 338, defining the conditions that would apply during a so-called “special situation.” The changes include restrictions to the right of freedom of information when the government decrees a “state of exception” in the event of a national alarm or emergency.
This is a right that has already been seriously compromised during the more than eight years of this “Bolivarian” regime.
To begin with, Chávez and his hangers-on (from both the private and the public sector) have built up a communications behemoth that would be the envy of Paul Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister.
The government currently controls 85% of the TV broadcasters (six channels), two radios heard throughout the country – i.e. the YVKE Mundial network and Radio Nacional de Venezuela (RNV)– a news agency, 3,000 community radio stations,three print media, 72 community publications and some 100 Internet portals, according to the director of the Communications School at Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), Adolfo Herrera, and other researchers.
Now, after the government arbitrarily deprived RCTV of its open signal, only three private TV stations are left: Venevisión, Televén and Globovisión. Of these, Globovisón alone has an editorial line that is independent of the government, but it lacks the nationwide coverage that RCTV had.
As though this were not enough, in its efforts to keep most of the population in the dark regarding reality in the country, the government continues to harass any media that fail to follow the official line.
During the week of October 20, for example,(a) Seniat closed downBolívar Films for 48 hours for alleged “formal breaches” of the VAT law, and (b) the CNE ordered Globovisión to stop broadcasting a set of short spots by Ciudadanía Activa that explained the changes being proposed for the constitution in simple, everyday language. The CNE, however, did not suggest that President Chávez tone down his brazen campaign in support of the planned amendments.
In addition, Seniat has launched a tax audit of the people responsible for the critical program “Buenas Noches” broadcast by Globovisión, among others Kiko Bautista, Carla Angola and Roland Carreño.
If these were isolated incidents one could give the CNE and Seniat the benefit of the doubt; but since things like this seem to happen virtually every day, one can only assume that what the government is trying to dois intimidate the media or, even worse, eliminate the right to information.
VenEconomy is a Venezuela's leading specialized publisher in the economic and financial area. VenEconomy's Points of View on the issues of the day, as seen by VenEconomy during the last week. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
Editor's note: This commentary was originally published by VenEconomy, on 10/25/2007. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest of our readers. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
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Petroleumworld News 10/29/07
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