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| Two Sides of Venezuela RCTV Shutdown |
| [Analysis] Chavez refuses to renew license of TV station that supported military coup |
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Alan Mota (al0021)  |
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Published 2007-05-29 10:27 (KST) |
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| Please note this article has only been lightly edited. <Editor's Note> |
Primarily, one could say the presidential decision of revoking the broadcasting license of RCTV, one of the largest Venezuelan broadcasters, had a tint of payback. Indeed, Chavez wasn't reluctant in stating the reason for his decision: He said that RCTV was involved in "subversive activities" -- he usually refers to RCTV and its directors as one of the "knights of the apocalypse" that took part on the military coup of 2002, that lasted two days and attempted to remove Chavez from office in his first term, for which he was democratically elected.
But one must look for the true reasons behind this highly unpopular closure, one that made headlines throughout the world and, once again, advertised Chavez as a constant violator of constitutional rights -- or dictator, for the radicals. These reasons trace back to the military coup of 2002 -- which is attributed by some to the U.S. -- but they also involve the current covering of the issue by the media, as well as governmental and anti-governmental interests in Venezuela. A usual, both sides have more at stake in this issue than just "protecting the Venezuelan people" or "defending freedom of speech," and neither side is innocent.
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| First of all, the facts must be explained. Unlike most of the mainstream media and RCTV would have you believe, Hugo Chavez is not "closing down" RCTV, but only refusing to renew the broadcaster's public license. That is, RCTV won't be able to broadcast on public airwaves anymore. Putting the obvious negative effects such measure will have on the station's ratings aside, RCTV will still be able to broadcast on Venezuela by cable and satellite. This refusal, in turn, was made on the basis that RCTV violated several laws in the last few years, most notably on its participation on the 2002 coup. Furthermore, RCTV didn't cooperate with tax laws and didn't pay a number of fines issued by the Venezuelan government in recent years.
With that in mind, this is usually the time when the left wing and the right wing take their positions. On the right-wing side, always in the name of freedom, people will defend the right of RCTV to stand for whatever it is they believe and condemn Chavez's decision of revoking their license, calling it "political." On the left-wing side, people will call RCTV an instrument of the Venezuelan oligarchies, used to manipulate the population against Chavez's socialist revolution, to the benefit of the elites. Then they will call the mainstream media decision to criticize Chavez "political." The problem is that in this case, both sides are right.
Based on the principles of freedom of speech, anyone is free to say whatever they want in public, as long as they don't interfere with the freedom of others, or incite violence. That's why Christian radicals in the U.S. can go on TV and say Darwin's theory of evolution is a lie, or neo-Nazi supporters can take flags with a swastika on it to football stadiums. So RCTV did have the right to, in 2002, call the masses to protest against Chavez, as long as they haven't incited violence. But they did. The day after the coup, a TV show aired in RCTV showed journalists and military coup plotters talking about how they tried to create an atmosphere of violence that would justify the overthrow of Chavez's government, and thanking RCTV for the support. During the coup, RCTV ran adverts calling the people to overthrow the government, and was the first station to broadcast the false claim that Chavez's supporters were shooting at peaceful demonstrators, which ended up triggering the military intervention. It turned out that the RCTV initiative backfired, and it would be enough for Chavez not to renew the license.
In turn, Chavez also mentioned the broadcaster's decline to cooperate with taxes and pay fines as reasons for the license denial. But what kind of taxes and fines did RCTV have to pay? Were they fair? It's not a stretch to imagine that, after surviving the coup of 2002, Chavez wouldn't be exactly friendly towards RCTV and the sectors of society that sponsored the military adventure. And indeed, he wasn't. From that moment on, most of the restrictions that today are called dictatorial were crafted and applied, and Chavez didn't try to hide his hostility towards opposition. However, under the risk of being accused of performing his own military coup, Chavez can't simply cut down on all constitutional freedoms, the way it used to be done in South America decades ago; he needs excuses. The same way he found an excuse to reduce the oil giants' participation on the Venezuelan oil industry to a minimum and boost growth of the state-owned PDVSA, he might have used taxes and fines as an excuse to say RCTV management was dishonest, therefore not deserving of a license.
Nevertheless, RCTV and the company that owns it -- as well as many other radio and TV broadcasters in Venezuela -- Empresas 1BC, are part of the opposing elite that resists Chavez's socialist policies on the country. This now opposing elite was the ruling elite during most of Venezuelan history, since the times it was called an oligarchy -- E1BC, founded by an American in the 1930s, is a perfect example of this. We don't need to go on details to understand how inefficient -- not to say disastrous -- were the governments supported by the oligarchies all over Latin America. A tradition of corruption, waste, political manipulation and social disparity was established and nurtured by these elites, from Argentina to Mexico; a tradition that resists to the day, haunting the political and economic environment of the region. This is the elite that now, in Venezuela, is having to deal with a government not approved nor supported by them, and that is not always willing to answer their demands and favor their companies. Their usual medicine against political or governmental resistance, fines, taxes and unfavorable contracts -- corruption -- not always works with Chavez, so how could they deal with him?
One thing is certain in the RCTV issue: It was indeed political. But since when a major media company hasn't influenced the political views in its country? Since when the elites of a country -- any country -- haven't tried to make their interests prevail, legally or illegally? Since when a government hasn't used its power for its own benefit, usually hiding behind last-minute excuses? Not that these practices are right, but they're no exception in Venezuela, as in any other country; they're part of the eternal struggle between those who are in office and those who aren't. They happen everywhere, and the only thing that separates a politically developed country from an underdeveloped is how low both parts are willing to go in this struggle.
From this point of view, it's not at all surprising that a TV station openly inciting the population to overthrow a government, and a president revoking a license on dubious grounds happen in Venezuela; the country is far from having a exemplary political and economic environment. It is much more surprising -- and disappointing -- that the Bush and Blair administrations lied to go to war in Iraq, for example, and that both countries are awarding shady contracts for companies who sided with their governments. Or that in a country such as Italy, investigations have found connections between high profile politicians and the mafia, and that the former prime minister openly used his media empire against political opposition. Or that the president of Russia threatens to arrest anyone who dares to criticize his policy. Many of the international media heavy criticism to Chavez came from developed countries, but many times these countries fail to set the example.
In the end, the "shutdown" of RCTV is not nearly as serious as it may look like in the papers. This is not a prelude of a Chavez dictatorship, nor a fatal hit on the opposing elites of Venezuela. So far, it's only an exaggeration, something you would expect of Chavez or even RCTV, but not of serious news media throughout the world.
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©2007 OhmyNews
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