Venezuela: Director of electoral council warns about escalation of Gov't advantage

[spanza]

Source: El Universal

The official stated that Venezuelans were fully aware of the imbalance expressed in the way mass media networks broadcast candidates' proposals.

Díaz commented that the behavior of some public officials is not consistent with the laws banning proselytism.

"The Government engages in the campaign through cadenas (TV and radio mandatory broadcasts), where there are no restrictions whatsoever on governmental advertising (...) there is a huge imbalance in the campaign," Díaz told radio station Unión Radio.

The CNE's director claimed that state-run TV channel VTV "advertises exclusively," the ruling party, United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), and whenever it refers to opposition candidates, it is to denigrate and stigmatize them.

Read more: http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/131128/director-of-electoral-council-warns-about-escalation-of-govt-advantage

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Vicente Díaz is one of the 5 rectores (translated as directors in this article) of Venezuela's National Electoral Council.

[Archae]

1. This doesn't sound good.

One left-wing dictatorship, coming up...

[MyNameGoesHere]

13. You mean the dictatorship that

allows free elections and dissent among the ranks? That has to be the worst run dictatorship ever.

[davidpdx]

2. No, no, no

It's Venezuela. Nothing bad happens there.

[FairWinds]

3. Black Ops Alert -

The trumpet of the Venezuelan oligarchy wants you to ignore the fact that most media there is totally anti-government - and, like El Universal, operates freely.
State run TV was only created in response to the blatant lying of outlets like EU, not to mention their open cheerleading of violent coups against elected governments.
There are many good grounds upon which to criticize the Ven. government - it's a puzzle why it's opponents feel compelled to make stuff up to do so.

[polly7]

4. Exactly. Thanks for the reminder. nt.

[spanza]

9. This is not a newspaper or a TV criticizing the govt, it's the director of a state institution. nt

[joshcryer]

14. The bolicarghs?

Why they have everything to gain from perpetuating the myth that Venezuela's media is free, even as newspapers there run out of paper to ... print on. Even as the largest TV channel there is bought out by ... another chavista boligarch.

The same media which won't broadcast one speech by the leading opposition figure without selective editing and bullshit.

[yurbud]

18. it's only ok for right wingers to express their opinions in the media

[bemildred]

5. So now the government cannot own or regulate TV stations?

Except when the opposition holds power?
And after we gleefully abandoned the "fairness doctrine" here?
Good luck with that.

[spanza]

8. There's not one "opposition" TV left in Venezuela...

nowadays since Globovision was bought by pro-Govt businessmen and almost all of its journalists fired.

"So now the government cannot own or regulate TV stations?"
No, I don't think so. The state is not the government.

[bemildred]

12. Good.

"The state is not the government."
Do tell me what the state is then.

[joshcryer]

15. The CNE is not saying that.

Oh, and I advocate bringing back the fairness doctrine here, it was ruled constitutional and the FCC should bring it back.

I bet not one person here supportive of the Venezuelan government overarching takeover of the TV media there would rule that Venezuela needs a fairness doctrine implemented.

[bemildred]

17. This is one director, not the CNE, and I said nothing about what the CNE said.

I would destroy the TV media as presently constituted, start over with a non-profit model and severe restrictions on content. Here and there. It is a bad thing. You have a right to free speech, but there is no right to use the public airwaves to peddle your trash or to push your political views down other peoples throat, THAT is a privilege granted by the government, and it can be taken away.

[joshcryer]

21. The FCC is non-profit.

Its fees run it. The fees alone are not that high. It's one reason Clear Channel has basically peppered the entire country with their stations.

The costs are in the facilities and the antennas and upkeep of those technologies.

If you'd wish that all television be run by non-profits, I'd be fine with that. But the boligarchs in Venezuela would not. They have their Miss Venezuela pageant to run.

[bemildred]

22. Thanks for clearing that up. nt

[yurbud]

19. we do not have a "free press" here when it comes to TV

since the news is only free to be owned by a handful of companies that allow at most 5% difference of opinion between their talking heads.

[joshcryer]

20. The FCC gives BROAD freedoms to transmit in the United States.

It only restricts indecency. And it protects candidates rights to be heard (though the fairness doctrine, which was dropped, gave balanced coverage to all candidates involved; that is the issue here, balanced coverage).

Your ignorance is astounding on this subject as the United States is the most frequency liberal country on the planet even after the corporations brought up huge swaths of spectrum for cell phone frequencies. The amateur and professional frequency use community fought damn hard to keep a significant part of the spectrum free for all to use.

[yurbud]

23. so...you get all kinds of points of view through your TV and car radio?

I'm aware of the low power FM stuff, and I'm pretty sure my family had a CB in the 70's. That's not the same as owning broadcast, cable, or satellite networks that reach audiences in the millions no matter how brain dead their content.

If the internet is ever shut off or severely compromised, those radio frequencies you mentioned will be vital, but they don't hold a candle to commercial TV and radio.

[dlwickham]

6. the Venezuelan government is corrupt

and has been for a long while

the only people who can't see it or admit it are the apologists who have been trying to shout down anyone who criticizes the government there

[bemildred]

7. Oh we know they are corrupt, we just don't see that makes them any different. nt

[FairWinds]

10. Prior to the Bolivarian Revolution . .

Venezuela was hugely corrupt, and the oligarchs never did squat to reduce poverty.
Now it is different.
This is from the World Bank . .
Among the most important programs that oil revenues have helped fund are the large social programs called Misiones. Economic growth and the redistribution of resources associated with these Misiones have reduced moderate poverty significantly, from 50% in 1998 to 25% in 2012. Inequality has also declined, as evidenced by the Gini Index, which fell from 0.49 in 1998 to 0.39 in 2011, one of the lowest rates in the region.

[Ranchemp.]

11. And now their economy is going down the toilet

due to massive govt. mismanagement and rampant govt. corruption, also, 50% inflation, chronic shortages of basic goods, failing electrical system, oil revenues dropping, highest crime rate in Latin America.

[joshcryer]

16. Yeah, it's only become one of the most murderous states on the planet.