On March 14th, the London Evening Standard published an article in which it claimed “28 demonstrators were killed in the past month” in Venezuela. The figure referred to the anti-government protests that had broken out in the South American nation, in February.
President Nicolas Maduro has struck out at media coverage of ex-Miss Venezuela Monica Spear’s murder as a “show” to make money and “demoralise” the South American country. Other recent notable murders meanwhile have not received mainstream media coverage.
After clamping down on “grotesque” overpricing by electronics stores and proposing to set maximum profit margins, there have been some large queues outside such stores around Venezuela, while some shops have temporarily closed. The opposition and the private media have depicted the situation as “chaotic”, while the government has called on the organised grassroots to “guarantee order”.
Earlier this month president Nicolas Maduro created a security body, the CESSPA, to coordinate information from intelligence organisations. Opposition spokespeople and private media have categorised the new body as “Castro-esque”, “dictatorial”, and “limiting free speech”.
After President Nicolas Maduro attended a military display in Aragua state which included Venezuela’s three unarmed drones, some mainstream media has highlighted Venezuela’s defence program, stressing Venezuela’s relationship with Iran.
Venezuelan private news channel Globovision is attempting to develop a more moderate image, however recent changes have been criticised by the conservative opposition.
After government officials denounced attacks on various government health clinics by rightwing protesters last week, Venezuelan private media launched a campaign to cover up those attacks and deny that they had occurred.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles has given falsified evidence to support his claims that there was fraud in Venezuela’s presidential elections on Sunday.
In a public broadcast yesterday the Venezuelan government announced the transition to democracy. Measures include the sale of community media to business giant Rupert Murdoch, and the privatisation of the health sector.
In stark contrast with the characterizations and demonization of Chávez in the major media is the response that Chávez’s death has elicited from his peers, fellow presidents from throughout the Americas.
As Venezuela enters its second day of mourning of the death of President Hugo Chavez, leaders of the opposition have already begun criticisms of the president’s successors, accusing them of not following the constitution.
