The Devil's Excrement

(Este post en español aquí)

Chavez’ revived henchman Diosdado Cabello is really getting back at the voters for not reelecting him as Governor, revealing a fascist streak unparelleled during the Chavez years, setting aside the big boss himself. Cabello seems to really be relishing his role, shutting down radio stations, threatening the media or politicians and announcing deals that don’t exist.

But the most remarkable ability of Cabello in the last few days is to simply lie with a straight face. He doesn’t even need to be asked about it, anytime a microphone happens to go near his face, the same lie comes out: All the Government is doing is restoring administrative order on Venezuelan media, as many concessions were no longer in the hands of those that were originally handed out the right to broadcast under the Government’s license, or something quite similar to that. Cabello has been saying this over and over since he first announced that the Government would shut down 240 radio stations, besides approving a new Bill regulating radio and, of course, the now infamous, Media Bill (CDM)

Except this is all a lie! Simply put, nothing in Venezuelan legislation limits, restricts or in any way says anything about the possibility inheriting or passing on to your families a media concession. In fact, as long your concession is valid, you can sell it na dsimply notify Conatel of the sale and that’s it! The rest as they say in Carora, is simply BS.

In fact, if that were not the case, the Chavez Government could have stopped TV station RCTV using the original owner argument, rather than the complicated renewal argument they had to use to shut down that media outlet.

In fact, as an imaginative Twitter used said today, you have to wonder how  the Cisneros brothers managed to keep their Venevision concession, given the fact that it was their father that originally obtained the concession.

But none of that happened because it was not in the law and the Government only “made up” this argument when it realized that there were tough times ahead and something had to be done about it.

So, really, you cant inherit the concession, because the boss, Hugo, does not feel like it. And as we said in the order to shut you down, you have fifteen days to appeal to Conatel and since you know we will nt change our minds, you have six months to go to the Supreme Court of Venezuela, where as you know…

We won’t feel like it either!!!

This entry was posted on August 3, 2009 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Venezuela.