Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is threatening to close Venezuela’s top anti-government television station in his latest push to weaken the opposition and build a socialist state.
Chavez has already moved against his opponents this year with measures that include stripping control of half of Caracas from the capital’s newly elected mayor and opening corruption investigations against several leaders.
Media-savvy Chavez, known for hours-long speeches often broadcast on all terrestrial channels, now has his critics’ main remaining channel, Globovision, in his sights as his government is reviewing licenses of all private stations.
PHOTO: AFP
Globovision’s closure would draw international criticism but be popular with Chavez’s hardcore supporters. Opposition outrage at such a move would unlikely extend to the wider population, only a small part of which watches the channel.
“Nobody in Venezuela should be surprised if the state takes decisions about certain media companies that are practicing terrorism in our country,” Chavez said last week during a visit to Argentina.
Two years ago he refused to renew the license of the nation’s favorite network RCTV, implicated in a brief coup against him in 2002. International watchdogs said that decision attacked the freedom of expression.
Thousands of students marched on Wednesday in Caracas, some carrying banners bearing Globovision’s logo.
Known for its vehemently anti-government stance, Globovision is accused by Chavez and his supporters of fomenting civil unrest. Most recently the government took exception to its coverage of an earthquake.
Globovision is a small station dedicated to news. It may still broadcast on cable if it loses its terrestrial license. As a mainstay of opposition politics, its closure would be a symbolic blow even though Chavez’s critics will still have access to the OPEC nation’s main newspapers and radio stations.
Less politicized private stations that show soaps, gameshows and more balanced news have the highest ratings and are far more popular than government-run networks.
Chavez has made several threats to Globovision and its owner Alberto Ravell in recent days. On his widely watched weekly television show last week, he said that the “lunatic” Ravell and Globovision would “be finished, or I’m not called Hugo Chavez.”
One media group, owned by mogul Gustavo Cisneros, has softened its former anti-government tone since the coup, but Globovision rarely backs away from a fight with Chavez and is favored by opposition politicians to get their message out.
“Venezuela’s first media terrorist is President Chavez, who every day verbally attacks any sector of the country that does not agree with him,” Ravell said on Tuesday.
RCTV, which lost its terrestrial license two years ago, and Globovision both gave airspace to army officers involved in a short-lived coup against Chavez in 2002.
The decision meant Venezuela’s favorite TV channel, source of highly watched soap operas, disappeared from the airwaves, sparking protests and contributing to Chavez’s defeat in a referendum that would have given him broad new powers.
But the move barely dented Chavez’s long-term popularity and he again enjoys approval ratings above 60 percent despite oil income falling by a half so far this year.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS