Winners and Losers of Venezuela’s Coercive Policy for

Presidential Addresses

The Venezuelan government has received severe domestic and international criticism for blocking cable television channel Radio Caracas Television International (RCTV) from broadcasting its programming. While the natural immediate reaction for most outside observers is to condemn the action as a violation of Venezuela’s freedom of the press, an analysis of the issues surrounding the subject will provide a more nuanced understanding of the legal environment present in Venezuela, the government’s motivations, and possible alternative responses that could be taken if the will were there.

The Current Situation

World attention again briefly turned to the Venezuelan media confrontation following the second closure of the RCTV facility. Issues of content control and censorship have been brought to the surface again following new conflicts between the Chávez government and the opposition cable channel RCTV. In 2005, Venezuela passed a Law of Social Responsibility for Radio and Television (RESORTE), thereby establishing a code to regulate the material that television channels could air (1). This included monitoring content as well as required coverage of presidential addresses by all public and national television channels.

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