Analysis of Venezuelan public discourse: It is a lie that “Venezuelan radio is alive and kicking” as Nicolás Maduro claimed

By Luinerma Marquez Castellanos

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On July 1, 2024, during the presentation of the “Simón Bolívar” National Journalism Award, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated that “Venezuelan radio is alive and kicking””, however, this statement contrasts with the reality of broadcasting in Venezuela, according to various analyses and reports documented by NGOs and international bodies.

Documentary evidence reflected in the research work carried out by journalist Keren Torres Bravo, member of the Cotejo.info team and the Venezuelan Observatory of Fake News, shows that during the closures imposed on the different radio stations in the country, due process and the basic rights of freedom of expression, established in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and in international declarations of Human Rights, have not been respected.

From 2003 to 2022, the NGO Espacio Público recorded the closure of 285 radio stations in the country, representing 71% of the total media outlets closed in the last 20 years. These numbers are added to the fact that 15 radio stations will go off the air in 2023 in the states Portuguese, Tachira, Anzoategui, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Falcon, Lara and Monagasaccording to the annual report by Ipys Venezuela entitled “The labyrinth of censorship.”

In 2022, the Venezuelan State ordered the closure of at least 80 radio stations, the highest number recorded in two decades. The state action proves that the closure of radio stations by the State is not a recent practice, given that one of the first orders for “massive media closures” was executed in 2009, when the then director of Conatel, Diosdado Cabello, announced that 34 stations would have to turn off their transmitters immediately.

Some owners of the affected stations have denounced the lack of responses to their requests for renewal of concessions, which worsens the legal uncertainty in the sector, and they also claim that the mode of operation The National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) usually involves visits from officials accompanied by security forces, who deliver shutdown orders without prior notice and demand the immediate cessation of transmissions.

The mass closure of radio stations and informal restrictions, such as censorship orders sent via instant messaging, have created an atmosphere of Self-censorship and reduction of spaces for opinionwhich weakens the plurality and diversity of voices in the radio spectrum and creates information deserts in several regions of the country.

The current situation of radio in Venezuela reflects a significant decrease in the plurality of voices and a continuous violation of the right to freedom of expression. Therefore, the statement made by Nicolás Maduro that “Venezuelan radio is alive and kicking” is contradicted by the closure of more than 300 radio stations in the last 20 years and the censorship exercised by Conatel.

Find out more details in the full version of this analysis of public discourse, prepared by the Cotejo.info team and the Venezuelan Fake News Observatory, at the following link:

https://cotejo.info/2024/07/ct-nicolas-maduro-la-radio-venezolana-esta-vivita-y-coleando-mentira/

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