At 3 AM yesterday morning, two unidentified individuals armed with Molotov cocktails attacked the Western headquarters of the state television station Vive TV, in Venezuela.
The dismissal of one of the government’s long standing economic figures, Jorge Giordani, from his ministerial post has caused debate and controversy in the South American country.
On the weekend civilians marched with National Bolivarian Guard (GNB) soldiers, and today the government declared part of Caracas “free” from violent protests. The march came as private media heightened its false statements about GNB actions.
Venezuelan opposition protesters in Caracas attacked three journalists following a march demanding “greater freedom of the press”. Meanwhile, barricades in Tachira state have claimed another life.
International and local private media have accused the Venezuelan government of infringing “freedom of expression and information” by restricting newspapers’ access to official exchange rate dollars, and therefore their ability to import paper. The government however says the dollars have been supplied, and blames speculating paper import companies.
While members of the communications ministry met with hundreds of community and alternative media over the weekend to look at ways to support that movement, other government officials met with private media on Monday to encourage them to promote better values.
As the Venezuelan government continues to tackle speculative retail pricing, President Nicolas Maduro has urged supporters to boycott private newspapers.
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”.
The Venezuelan government’s media regulator Conatel has renewed the public broadcast licence for private television channel Televen for five years “without conditions”, it was confirmed yesterday.
Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been awarded Venezuela’s National Journalism Prize posthumously for his role in promoting alternative media and the democratisation of communication.
A major private Venezuelan media conglomerate, the Cadena Capriles, will come under new ownership over the next two months, while a new director is expected to take over television network Globovision in the coming weeks.
Venezuelan private news channel Globovision is attempting to develop a more moderate image, however recent changes have been criticised by the conservative opposition.
