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Censorship in Venezuela
Sources: Freedom House's Freedom of the Press and Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index
Note: Freedom House rank limited to 100 (worst)
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Censorship in Venezuela refers to all actions which can be considered as suppression in speech in the country. More recently, Reporters Without Borders ranked Venezuela 159th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index 2023 and classified Venezuela's freedom of information in the "very difficult situation" level.[1]
The Constitution of Venezuela says that freedom of expression and press freedom are protected. Article 57 states that "Everyone has the right to freely express his or her thoughts, ideas or opinions orally, in writing or by any other form of expression, and to use for such purpose any means of communication and diffusion, and no censorship shall be established." It also states that "Censorship restricting the ability of public officials to report on matters for which they are responsible is prohibited." According to Article 58, "Everyone has the right to timely, truthful and impartial information, without censorship..."[2]
Human Rights Watch said that during "the leadership of President Chávez and now Mr. Maduro, the accumulation of power in the executive branch and the erosion of human rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate, censor, and prosecute its critics" and reported that broadcasters may be censored if they criticize the government.[3][4]
Reporters Without Borders said that the media in Venezuela is "almost entirely dominated by the government and its obligatory announcements, called cadenas".[5]
In 1998, independent television represented 88% of the 24 national television channels while the other 12% of channels were controlled by the Venezuelan government. By 2014, there were 105 national television channels with only 48 channels, or 46%, representing independent media while the Venezuelan government and the "communitarian channels" it funded accounted for 54% of channels, or the 57 remaining channels.[6] Freedom House has also stated that there is "systematic self-censorship" encouraged toward the remaining private media due to pressure by the Venezuelan government.[7]
According to the National Union of Press Workers of Venezuela, 115 media outlets have been shut down between 2013 and 2018 during Nicolás Maduro's government, including 41 printed means, 65 radio outlets and 9 television channels.[8]
The Press and Society Institute of Venezuela found at least 350 cases of violations of freedom of expression during the first seven months of 2019.[9]
In 2022, pro-government deputy Jesús Faría admitted that the government blocked digital outlets.[10]
- ^ "Clasificación Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa RSF 2023 | Tabla de países" [RSF World Press Freedom Index 2023 | Table of countries]. Reporters Without Borders (in Spanish). 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- ^ "Constitution of Venezuela in English" Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine 1999 Constitution of Venezuela
- ^ "WORLD REPORT | 2014" (PDF). Report. Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Venezuela: Halt Censorship, Intimidation of Media". Human Rights Watch. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "Americas". Reporters Without Borders. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ Corrales, Javier (April 2015). "The Authoritarian Resurgence". Journal of Democracy. 26 (2): 37–51. doi:10.1353/jod.2015.0031. S2CID 153641967.
- ^ "Venezuela - 2014 Scores". Freedom House. Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
pressure from the central government on private media ... fosters systematic self-censorship
- ^ "Durante el gobierno de Maduro se han cerrado 115 medios de comunicación, según el SNTP" (in Spanish). NTN24. Durante el gobierno de Maduro se han cerrado 115 medios de comunicación, según el SNTP. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ "Balance Semanal IPYSve | Hechos intimidatorios y limitaciones de acceso: el patrón de la censura en julio". IPYS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "Chavista Jesús Faría admite bloqueo a medios digitales en Venezuela". El Estímulo (in Spanish). 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
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