The Venezuelan dictatorship in action

Having made the case that Venezuela is now under a novel dictatorship form of government, there is nothing left for this blog but to illustrate our hypothesis with probationary evidence. In a single day, we got three to discuss.

The homes of the fatherland

Let's not get into the detail that the regime is breaking all electoral rules by launching strong its campaign for December municipal elections. Dictatorships follow the electoral flow chart they chose and change at will. Instead let's look at the message exposed today.

#ChávezVivelaPatriaSigue Vamos tod@s a inscribirnos y participar en la Red de HogaresPatriotas,Bolivarianos yChavistas para Gobernar Junt@s.
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) August 24, 2013

#ChavezLivesTheFatherlandContinues Let's go all to register and participate en the Network for Patriotic Homes, Bolivarian and Chavista to rule together.

In short it means that if you do not go an sign up your home in this new registry, then you are a traitor.

Translation: they certainly are not going to come and knock at my door. This is a measure to strike fear in popular districts where increasingly people are daring to vote against the regime. The published electoral results may be a manipulation but the regime knows the real numbers. In addition in popular districts where there is a certain flux of inhabitants, this creates a new up to date registry of voters, listing the many ways they can be threatened if they do not vote (by belonging to any of the various Misiones, or having their relatives in one of those). The way the state TV reports it includes a video where the ghost of Chavez floats over these Patriot Homes. Interestingly Diosdado Cabello was campaigning in Anzoategui, which in theory should be a lost cause for chavismo, with a surprising inclusive message of bringing solutions for all, regardless of their party affiliation......

Not only this is dictatorship, but it is also fascism.

Amuay revisited

You may remember the Amuay disaster of one year ago. In spite of all sorts of blockades set by the regime so we do not know what caused the accident, the opposition representatives at the National Assembly did try to conduct an investigation and got some results that they tried to deliver at Amuay Plant Management. Who refused to receive them, not even accepting the bound report. While PDVSA workers were conveniently set outside to heckle the representatives.

Well, at least they got a result. The regime decided suddenly that it will "soon" reveal the evidence that Amuay was an attack from the opposition, a sabotage to ruin the reëlection campaign of Chavez. Maduro, of course, just states that he has the evidence but he is unable even to give a hint. Nor, that we know of, is anyone already under arrest or something.  Just like the myriad of assassination attempts against Chavez that have yet to yield an actual picture of the would be assassin, and even less of a trial......

Now, I am not going to put it past from some oppo loonies to set Amauy on fire. After all, next door in Colombia, the FARC is tired to blow up pipelines and electric transmission towers. So the inspiration would come directly from Maduro's pals in Colombia. However it is inexcusable that if the regime had any evidence of such a sabotage we are only told now, AFTER the opposition presented a serious paper on the matter, that the regime will not as a matter of principle even try to refute. Well, they cannot, but that is another story.

This is how a dictatorship replies to criticism, by counter attack in an outrageous manner, to drown the noise from the other side.  And a little fascistic in the threats implied and vocabulary used.


Movie censorship

And to finish this on a lighter note of sorts. The latest state sponsored movie is about a moment in the life of Bolivar who is played by Roque Valero, one of these artists who after 14 years decided to come out for Chavez in last year campaign. The critic has not been good, but was not bad either. At any rate, there seems to have been a snafu in the distribution of the tracks and the regime has taken it as a personal offense, as censorship of its voice. This for a regime that has just closed down Globovision and does not allow a single opposition figure to be featured on any of the state media.  Note the aggressive attack of Maduro

"¿De quién es Cinex? Porque se niegan a pasar la película Bolívar. Hay que abrir una investigación porque la censura es delito en el país y quien comete censura lo tiene que pagar caro."Who is the owner of Cinex [theater franchise]. Why do they refuse to pass a film on Bolivar[?]. We need to open an investigation because censorship is a crime in this country and the one who commits censorship needs to pay big for it. 

This said of course with a total lack of self consciousness. On the fascist side, no?

By the way, Maduro wants his followers to jump on Facebook and Twitter to harass the opposition participants there. Maybe I should expect more harassment? Kind of a form of censorship if you ask me. Do they read English?

Exit Globovision

I was at a small social gathering when through twitter we learned that Leopoldo Castillo, the anchor for 12 years of Alo Ciudadano, was quitting. Thus ended the party. Thus died the last independent talk show on Venezuelan TV, and I dare say Globovision. As of tonight there is no TV network in Venezuela that has a critical view of the regime: all are either outright propaganda or neutered journalism that passes as little as possible unfavorable news for the regime. If any. Now, to get a more complete view of the news in Venezuela, the real news, the real problems, you need to read more than one newspaper, you need to scour through Internet, and if you are lucky you live in a town that has still some semi independent radio stations (independent radio stations seem to be rare these days, and only in major centers). But TV is out.

I did not like many of the Globovison features and it had been quite a while that I only watched Alo Ciudadano, as the only place in Venezuela where news were actually discussed in depth and the only TV in Venezuela where viewers could place a call and speak their mind. If many of the calls were exasperating, they did at least reflect the mood of the country opposition. Even chavistas had to call El Ciudadano because there is no place of the state media where you can call and complain.

But I never shared the rather effete and cavalier attitude of some pages that criticized Globovision as not following journalism standards of their liking. The fact was that very early under Chavez tenure Globovison was holding a war journalism. Not only its journalists had to hit the streets with helmets and gas masks, but the judicial system was sending fine after fine. Failing to understand this and making allocations for the output of the network was, for me, intellectual cowardice. (1)

Eventually the owners sensing that the regime would drive Globovison  to bankruptcy decided to sell (after the RCTV closure that drew international condemnation the regime knew better than closing networks outright).  I am not one to condemn the Zuloaga family for selling. First, I am sure that they did not get as much as they would have got for it if Venezuela were a more "normal" country. Second, with or without the Zuloaga family at the helm, the journalists of Globovision were doomed to lose their jobs sooner than later.  I am even willing to say that the Zuloagas thought that they were getting a reprieve of at least one year for their personnel. It did not last 3 months. Any clear minded observer of Venezuela knew that the regime could not afford a critical voice anymore now that Chavez was gone and that the economy was going to the dogs. The question was not if, it was when.

The 'when' thus came in two parts.

First, it was the selling of the network to some rather new money working in insurance companies, as if that was a credential to own and direct the most famous network of Venezuela. We all suspected that the real buyers were others and that Cordero and co. were only front men. Who in Venezuela today would throw good money at a TV network who will see its share plummet once its editorial line would be changed? This could only be dirty money thrown at a network for some form of laundering operation while the regime would get rid of its best critics.

The second part came in installments. Buenas Noches was the first talk show to go. Even though it was a lousy and strident show it did not leave for its quality but for censorship reasons. Next were Yo Prometo. Soon, the tone of the news became less critical of the regime though in spite of doomsayers Globovision still did show what others would not. Early this morning Chuo Torrealba headlines round up announced that it was it was his last appearance. But the unexpected came tonight with Alo Ciudadano that even pessimists like me though would last until December. And as a staff protest about the fast speed to self censorship the nightly news was boycotted by journalists leaving Globovison with the rebroadcast of a Colombian network on its screen.

Why that sudden finishing off? Because do not be fooled, without Alo Ciudadano Globovison will become an irrelevant network. The reason why the regime decided to finish off Globovison is very simple: things are about to get so bad that they simply have to try to silence as many news outlets as possible. In the century of social networks it is a lost cause for them, but when you are desperate...... At least whomever truly bought Globovision will own the concession and can use it for the internecine chavista warfare. I, for one, could not care less to watch those.

To end this post: for those who criticized from the opposition Globovision and for those who could not be bothered in defending the last pulpit we had, now let's see what you are going to do. And for those who salivate at the potential of getting the viewers and revenue share of Globovision, wait, your turn to be closed or bought out for peanuts will come. Totalitarianism is inexorable.

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1) Yet another example of ignorance and misinterpretation on Globovision comes from the AFP release of today, in Spanish, sorry. At the end they write that the new management was allowing government officials to visit again. This is untrue, shoddy journalism. El Ciudadano in particular got tired of exhibiting the many invitations he sent to public officials that often would not even be courteously declined. The reason why they did not come is that Leopoldo Castillo would not censor the incoming phone calls. And chavista officials do not like to be held accountable.

A heavy fine for El Nacional to attack freedom of expression

We have just learned that El Nacional, the most anti Chavez paper of the country, and with El Universal the most venerable, has received a breaking fine of 1% of its 2010 revenue. The reason was the front page publication of a morgue picture with the bodies piled up in an utter mess as the morgue simply could not deal with the crime rates. I have already covered these issues in 2010 and I send you back to the entries of the time: this, this one and that one with the picture. El Nacional of course carries a complete historical here. Thus there is nothing for me to say in addition, just the need to point out that the repression is going full swing in Venezuela.