By Rachael Boothroyd - Venezuelanalysis.com, Feb 1st 2012
Even in a regulated economy such as Venezuela, financial traders and the commercial elite, the same bourgeoisie which Carroll continues to cite as a reliable source on all things Venezuelan at the expense of engaging with ordinary citizens, have found a way of speculating and exploiting the economic situation whilst giving the proverbial finger to the majority of Venezuelans and the national government.
Since the early days of the presidency, the adversarial position of the media, both within Venezuela and abroad, has evolved to become less overt. Reference is no longer made to a 'dictatorship'; it seems that this battle has, for the most part, been lost. Instead, we now see an apparent balance which presents the views of both supporters and opponents...
By Hugh O'Shaughnessy, The Guardian UK, Jan 12th 2012
The arrival of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Sunday was an interesting but minor item in the process of what has become known as "south-south relations". It will strengthen western myth-makers – the same ones who brought us Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction – on the story of Venezuela as a modern day Cave of the 40 Thieves with Hugo Chávez cast as the wicked and wily Ali Baba.
"One of the most visible, vocal and controversial leaders in Latin America" (according to the BBC), Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez receives much attention from the British media. Frequent news reports, alluding to government 'attacks' on democracy and press freedom, and discussing the nationalisation of assets, create an impression of a 'regime' which asserts too much power.
By Correo del Orinoco International, Dec 16th 2011
This week Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called on friends and allies to “be attentive” after mainstream media outlets in the United States released uncorroborated evidence accusing Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran of holding “secret meetings” in Mexico to plan terrorist attacks against “US interests”.
By Correo del Orinoco International , Oct 30th 2011
Corporate media networks and their owners in the Americas issued fresh attacks against Venezuela last week during a meeting of the US-based Inter-American Press Association (IAPA).
By Jorge Martín - In Defence of Marxism, Aug 26th 2011
While I was in Venezuela a number of comrades asked me about some manifesto against “Chavez's attacks on trade union rights” and also about the controversy over a letter Noam Chomsky had signed which the bourgeois media had used in their campaign in defence of “human rights” in Venezuela.
In this open letter to The Economist, Venezuela's Mario Silva responds to a recently published article that included numerous personal and professional attacks on Silva's work as a leftist political commentator and news analyst.
In this interview excerpt, Eduardo Galeano explains why he has described Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as a “strange dictator”, recounting his own experience as an election observer in Venezuela and describing the political role played by the opposition media in Venezuela.
A letter to the Guardian criticising its coverage of Venezuela, specifically its lack of articles on the assasination of Venezuelan farmers, while instead it covers stories such as the possiblity of Chavez going bald.
By Federico Fuentes, Green Left Weekly, Jul 11th 2011
No sooner had information come out that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was undergoing surgery in Cuba than the international media was full of speculation and rumours regarding his imminent demise.
By Rachael Boothroyd - Venezuelanalysis.com, Jul 7th 2011
Yesterday Venezuela celebrated 200 years since it became officially free from Spanish colonialism. A fairly momentous occasion, no doubt of great significance for people’s emancipatory struggles everywhere...Yet, according to Fox news, the BBC, the Washington post, and other equally scarcely illuminating news sources, Tuesday’s events were of little importance.
Surely, for the sake of the Guardian's credibility, now is the time to relieve Rory Carroll, the Guardian's South America editor, of his duties and let him do what he does best; composing 'advertisement features' for the tourist board of the country with the worst human rights record in the hemisphere.
There was no missing the glee with which Rory Carroll reported in the UK Guardian that "speaking to the Observer last week, Chomsky has accused the socialist leader [Hugo Chavez] of amassing too much power and of making an 'assault' on Venezuela's democracy."
On Thursday Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke to the Venezuelan people live on national television, referring to recent health issues he has faced, including a cancerous tumor succesfully removed by medical professionals in Havana, Cuba.
