President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, faced with serious electricity and water problems, has asked Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for help. Venezuela has gone through a devastating drought that has forced water rationing – some areas of Caracas go 48 hours without water – and rolling blackouts.
Venezuela’s main source of electricity (more than 70%) is from the hydroelectric power plant at the Guri Dam, which is now officially called Central Hydroelectric Simon Bolivar, but, before Chavez, was Central Hydroelectric Raul Leoni.
It is located in the Necuima Canyon on the Caroni River, which is one of the largest rivers in the Orinoco basin. The Guri is the world’s third largest dam (behind Three Gorges and Itaipu).
Brazil is sending engineers and technicians.
Opposition groups in Venezuela have taken to the streets to protest against TVs closures. Two students have died during these demonstrations.
Said Chavez, “If you (from the opposition) are treading the path of destabilization, I warn that this will generate the opposite result of what you are looking for – we can decide to accelerate the changes.” He called himself a Marxist in a recent TV appearance.
The Venezuelan president has nationalized large sectors of the economy in recent years, including telecommunications and electricity. This month he also expropriated a network of French-Colombian hypermarkets accusing it of gouging the public.
Media Clamp Down
After closing down independent TV channel, RCTV, and taking five other broadcasters off the air, the government of Venezuela says it will now impose strict rules for the operation of mass communication companies. The objective is to ensure compliance with government norms on operations and type of programming.
RCTV is an independent broadcaster. In 2007 it was an open channel, but president Hugo Chavez refused to renew its license so it became a cable TV broadcaster with headquarters in Miami. RCTV broadcasts were suspended last week after it did not transmit all of a speech by president Chavez.
According to the director-general of the National Telecommunications Commission, Diosdado Cabellos, the six broadcasters just punished will be inspected every four months as of now to see that they are obeying the Law of Social Responsibility for Radio and Television.
He said that noncompliance may result in suspension of transmission signals. Cabellos explained that RCTV, besides the problem with the Chavez speech, has broadcast programs created in Colombia – a country that president Chavez has a difficult relationship with.
Cabellos also criticized RCTV for not transmitting programs made in Venezuela – under the law 12% of all television content should be Venezuelan.
