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Hugo Chavez Goes Further Down the Road to Dictatorship


    UPDATED 6-5-07

Hi friends, I want to apologize for going off half-cocked on this story.
I too was sucked in by the mainstream myth about Chavez going too far. I am a free speech fundamentalist and don’t believe there are very many legitimate reasons for censorship. I also believe that we need to be vigilant against government censorship, even if it’s being done by someone we hold in high esteem. but I didn’t at the time realize the real story behind the closing down of RCTV and that it was done through legal channels - rather than the Chavez government acting unilaterally. I also have been doing a little reading into the National Endowment for Democracy’s involvement into Venezuelan politics and the anti-Chavez sentiment that they are attempting to stir up. So, in the interest of anti-censorship, I leave this post intact - warts-and-all, but encourage you to read the discussion below the fold.
Thanks.

Sad.
After Chavez had himself virtually declared President-for-Life, I should’ve seen this coming.

Anonimo in Venezuela says,
In this video, you can see the strange and sad way that the news program on RCTV shut down this past Friday, after Venezuela’s president arbitrarily decided to close it.Each worker at the TV station, hundreds of people whose jobs depend on this network which has been critical of Chavez, will be unemployed tomorrow.

The station closes Monday May 28th thanks to a political decision through which Chavez seeks to gain total control of the basic freedoms of the country’s citizens.

The world needs to know. Only you guys abroad can help us spread the word.
Chavez spends hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying around the world with governments and earning many international support at the expense of our taxes, natural resources, and freedoms.

Many of us are scared, but we are willing to do something about it.

Chavez transforming into a genuine dictator is good news for the Bushco Globo-fascists. Now they have yet another country to ‘liberate’. Sadly, the people of Venezuela get the hose in the end, and I don’t mean in a riot.

Watch video, which unfortunately isn’t subtitled, here.
Watch ensuing protest here.

From Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing, who is touring Central America as of this writing.

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This entry was written by Rich and posted on May 28, 2007 at 1:09 pm and filed under Americas, The, Fascism, Free speech. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

8 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

(listed oldest to newest)

  1. I’d recommend reading this before you conclude Chavez is doing anything wrong by shutting down RCTV (be sure to read the comments below the article too).

    The station’s license expired. Venezuela still has 4 other TV stations. RCTV committed treason against the government and should have been prosecuted. 70-80% of the population of Venezuela adores Chavez. Does that sound like a dictator?

    I’m sure the FCC wouldn’t hesitate to shut down a TV station that was threatening to overthrow the US government.

    IMO 3/4 of the reason the USA has turned into an imperialist and fascist state is the failure to properly regulate television.

    There has been a ton of propaganda about Chavez and IMO this is just more of the same. I’d be worried if Chavez was repressing his people but it appears he is doing everything in his power to help Venezuelans.

    “He who controls the message controls the masses.” Joseph Goebbels

    [Reply]
    1. Above comment written by bushtoolNo Gravatar on May 28th, 2007 at 2:33 pm (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).

  2. Rich presents a lop-sided, narrow view that is pure propaganda. We don’t need that in a progressive site. It belongs in the junk tabloids. :(

    [Reply]
    2. Above comment written by g. kortesNo Gravatar on May 28th, 2007 at 6:24 pm (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).

  3. There is another article about this matter here.

    Until I read and chewed on this a while, I too thought Chavez was going in a wrong direction so I can understand Rich’s concern about his actions.

    [Reply]
    3. Above comment written by bushtoolNo Gravatar on May 28th, 2007 at 6:38 pm (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).

  4. Yep.
    I done jumped the gun on that one.
    The story I read early this morning (before java had a chance to do its magic) was a little on the panicky side. I also ran across the Fair.org article John points to. I also at times think that - besides the obvious propaganda - that there’s an ongoing fake grassroots movement going on to discredit Chavez. We should still question what he does with regards to free speech.
    Sorry folks. I will pull this article after enough offended parties read this.

    [Reply]
    4. Above comment written by RichNo Gravatar on May 28th, 2007 at 7:34 pm (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).

  5. Please don’t pull the post. It’s good to discuss Chavez and media bias. For all we know, perhaps the CIA was secretly running the TV station. How’s that for propagandizing?

    [Reply]
    5. Above comment written by bushtoolNo Gravatar on May 28th, 2007 at 7:47 pm (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).

  6. Chavez’s apparent absolute power makes me nervous too. We here in the US are reminded quite frequently of the result of having a screwed up government with one or two individuals wielding too much control.

    [Reply]
    6. Above comment written by bushtoolNo Gravatar on May 28th, 2007 at 8:17 pm (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).

  7. I agree with BT, don’t pull the post. Being a progressive site does not mean suppressing articles or viewpoints that don’t support a progressive view. That is what talk radio has been for the last 20 years for the right. People should have the courage of their convictions to have an open, honest debate on the issues. When I saw this post by Rich I remembered the Extra! article debunking exactly the viewpoint he was positing but BT scooped me on citing the article. Now Rich has the counterpoint which may be closer to the real story. Isn’t that what free speech is about?

    [Reply]
    7. Above comment written by FOIA GrasNo Gravatar on May 28th, 2007 at 11:44 pm (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).

  8. Here is an OpEd on Chavez and the Venezuela political situation.

    [Reply]
    8. Above comment written by bushtoolNo Gravatar on June 5th, 2007 at 7:55 am (replies, if any, are attributed separately above).
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