Support for RCTV

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Students aren’t the only ones protesting the disappearance of Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, from Venezuela’s airwaves on May 27 after President Hugo Chavez declined to renew the station’s license. Word has filtered out that on June 1 a group of cadets at Venezuela’s naval academy in La Guaira began chanting “Liberty, liberty, liberty” in between classes, in a show of support for the channel. Chavez reportedly met with the naval command on Tuesday to discuss how widespread the cadets’ sentiment is at the academy.

Meanwhile, in Caracas on Thursday a delegation of students presented a petition to the National Assembly asserting their right to free expression. But when Chavista members of congress proposed a debate, the student delegation left the hall, saying the right of free speech was “non-negotiable.” Diosdado Cabello, the Chavista governor of Miranda state, had a different take on the meeting. “They left with their tails between their legs,” he said.

In a gesture of solidarity, Globovision, the only remaining Venezuelan commercial TV network with national reach, said it would broadcast RCTV’s popular news program called “The Observer.” Caracol of Colombia is also broadcasting selected RCTV programs. RCTV denied rumors it might leave Venezuela and set up studios in another country. The channel continues to produce its popular telenovelas, which are sold throughout Latin America.

Posted by Chris Kraul in Bogota