Political Report, DIRECTV’s Pullout From Venezuela: Associated Press Got It Wrong

by Steve Ellner, LAP Editor Posted in Consortium News

The Associated Press' Miami-based Latin America correspondent, as early as January, pushed the Venezuelan opposition's line that the TV channel Globovisión was a tool of Nicolás Maduro's government and that DirecTV should take it off the air. The report helped prepare the groundwork for subsequent events in which the Trump administration pressured DirecTV to do just that, after which the broadcasting company simply pulled out of the country last week.  Joshua Goodman, the AP correspondent, legitimized the State Department's pressure on AT&T to "pull the plug on Maduro's propaganda machine" and cease transmission of Globovisión.  The pressure paid off. DirecTV said it pulled out of Venezuela because of U.S. sanctions. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter: "Why can't Venezuelans watch Fútbol Total? Because Nicolás Maduro drove DirecTV out. Protecting his cronies and their money is more important than allowing ten million citizens access to uncensored information." Pompeo was blaming Maduro for not acceding to State Department demands that DirecTV rid itself of Globovisión. Now members of the opposition are echoing Pompeo's claim by circulating a petition that calls on DirecTV's owner AT&T to return to Venezuela in the form of a "Free DirecTV." The petition would have DirecTV broadcast in Venezuela by defying and ignoring government regulations while accepting the State Department's power to blacklist Venezuelan channels. As of Wednesday the petition had over 100,000 signatures.

Abstract, Digital Storytelling and the Dispute over Representation in the Ayotzinapa Case

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Digital Storytelling and the Dispute over Representation in the Ayotzinapa Case
by María Elena Meneses and María Concepción Castillo-González

Comparison of the narratives of civil society and the federal government on YouTube and Twitter in the case of the disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa, Mexico, allows the identification of the codes of representation being disputed in this emblematic case of violation of fundamental rights. Digital storytelling that goes viral and across media offers the possibility of organizing protest in the offline world. Its reflective attributes favor the visibility of injustice and permanence on the local and global agenda and in some cases exert pressure on social actors and authorities to establish mechanisms to resolve the conflict.

Abstract, Civic Organizations and Internet Social Networks: A Case Study in the Province of Buenos Aires

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Civic Organizations and Internet Social Networks: A Case Study in the Province of Buenos Aires
by Ana Cecilia Silva

A neighborhood assembly in a medium-sized city in the province of Buenos Aires formed in connection with a petition for designation as a historical protection area uses the Internet to generate visibility spaces alternative to those of the traditional media and install its own agenda, to include in those new spaces the voices and perspectives of new social actors, and to organize and improve its own participatory management. Its use of Facebook has acquired some of the features of “community media.” At the same time, its use of the Internet for internal communication and coordination is clearly accessory to face-to-face interaction. There is a generational difference in access to and decision making about the content to be posted in the various media, and spokespersons have become authorized voices. Appealing to both the traditional and the new media is a crucial aspect of the assembly’s positioning strategy, but the strategy is in constant revision.

Abstract, Changing the Channel: Class Conflict, Everyday State Formation, and Television in Venezuela

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Changing the Channel: Class Conflict, Everyday State Formation, and Television in Venezuela
 by Naomi Schiller

The formation of new state television outlets in Venezuela during the Chávez era was a process of dismantling and remaking hierarchies among social classes and between the fields of state and community media production. An analysis of the involvement of community media producers in creating a new state television outlet in Caracas and the collaboration between community and state producers in the first decade of the twenty-first century suggests that the influx of community media producers into state media projects and vice versa was mutually transformative. Such an analysis brings to the fore what vertical topographies of power obscure: the conflict and cooperation between different social sectors that were central to the making of both official and unofficial media projects aligned with the Chávez-led Bolivarian Revolution. In these joint efforts we see the state as an unfolding process of negotiation and struggle.

Abstract, Crisis of Representation and New Media Policies in Latin America

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Crisis of Representation and New Media Policies in Latin America
 by Martín Becerra and Celeste M. Wagner

The emergence of new communication policies in Latin America from 2004 to 2015 took place in the midst of an unprecedented public antagonism between governments and media groups in Latin America. To understand the emergence of this conflict, the following variables are proposed: (1) the populist features of the governments involved, (2) a crisis of representation, (3) high levels of media concentration in a context of historically permissive regulation and a crisis of the traditional media, and (4) the governments’ perception of the media as opponents and even as threats to their power.

LAP Protest Statement of Marielle Franco's Assassination in Brazil

Message of Solidarity with the Brazilian People

With sorrow and indignation, we, the editors and collaborators of the journal Latin American Perspectives (University of California, Riverside) learned of the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco, of the Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL) of Brazil, on the night of March 14, in downtown Rio de Janeiro. In 2016, Marielle Franco was the fifth largest vote recipient in the city, obtaining 46,000 votes.

A few days before her murder, Marielle Franco was appointed rapporteur of the Parliamentary Commission to monitor the military intervention that since February 16 has prevailed over public security in the state of Rio. On February 28, the councilwoman published on her Facebook profile: "We take a stand and are against this intervention. It is a farce, with electoral objectives. We will occupy this space fulfilling our oversight role, as a municipal legislator. " One day before she was murdered, she protested on her Twitter account, "How many more must die for this war to end?" The military intervention in Rio de Janeiro was the toughest measure of Michel Temer's government in the election year of 2018.

Born poor and black in the Maré Favela, Marielle broke several barriers to study Social Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. In 2014, she received her Master's degree in Administration at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), where she criticized the Units of Police Pacification (UPP) and a public security policy that was unable to reduce murders and violence. Marielle worked for ten years with state deputy Marcelo Freixo (PSOL-RJ), a Brazilian leftist politician who became world-famous when he was depicted as a character in the film Tropa de Elite (by José Padilha), as a human rights activist against "militias" (gangs of corrupt police officers who act violently in their territories with electoral purposes).

Marielle Franco was active in feminist and LGBT causes, in the struggle against police violence, in combating the genocide of black youth and in defending social equality. She used her office as a tribune on behalf of the oppressed sectors of the Brazilian society. Recognized for genuine leadership, the councilwoman daily denounced the abuses of military power. The crime of which she was the victim has all the characteristics of an execution.

Her murder further weakens the credibility of the current Brazilian government.  Latin American Perspectives shares the concerns of the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch in favor of independent investigation of the case and joins the outcry of the population that has massively demonstrated in the streets of the major cities of the country in search of justice. So that the history of impunity reported by the National Commission of the Truth of Brazil is not repeated, we offer our solidarity.

Riverside, March 16, 2018.

Political Report # 1318 Western Media Hail Ecuador's Cynical President Moreno

By Joe Emersberger FAIR

In an article for the British Guardian (2/2/18), Dan Collyns wrote: But since taking office, Moreno-the world's only wheelchair-using head of state-has made good on his pledge to be his own man. What Lenín Moreno actually pledged during his election campaign several months ago was to continue the "Citizens Revolution" of Rafael Correa, whose left-wing government Moreno was part of for 10 years. Moreno called Correa the greatest president Ecuador ever had during the campaign. And here is a video of Moreno leading a crowd in cheers of "Rafael! Rafael!" at a campaign rally. Moreno is now, through a referendum that he never proposed on the campaign trail-it was actually proposed by his right-wing opponent-asking voters to  (retroactively) re-impose term limits, handpick a body with "transitional" powers to fire 150 authorities (judges, prosecutors, regulators etc....) and drastically reduce taxes on wealthy land-speculators. Moreno did not campaign for any of those things. He is now also talking about a "free trade" deal with the United States-another policy he would never have dared to propose while he needed Correa's support to get elected. Further, Moreno has given Ecuador's private banks exclusive control over electronic money-which he never would have proposed while he needed Correa.  In 1999, the private banks, after years of corruption and deregulation, totally crashed Ecuador's economy.  Reining them in, including their media power, was key to the economic success Ecuador had under Correa. In short, as many Latin American politicians did during the neoliberal '80s and '90s, Moreno campaigned left then governed from the right.  Wasn't Moreno perfectly free to "be his own man" as a presidential candidate, by resigning from Correa's government and running as the right-wing politician that he became after the votes were counted?

Abstract, The Tip of the Iceberg: Media Coverage of “Slave Labor” in Argentina

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The Tip of the Iceberg: Media Coverage of “Slave Labor” in Argentina
by Marina Kabat, Agustina Desalvo, Julia Egan


The Argentina media often report “slave labor” conditions in clothing production and seed nurseries. A critical assessment of the types of coercion (economic and noneconomic) that hold workers under these brutal conditions indicates that instances of extraeconomic coercion are merely the extreme manifestation of a general situation in which economic coercion predominates. The determinants of the deterioration of working conditions in these two sectors include relative overpopulation and technological backwardness.

Abstract, The Tip of the Iceberg: Media Coverage of “Slave Labor” in Argentina

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The Tip of the Iceberg: Media Coverage of “Slave Labor” in Argentina
by Marina Kabat, Agustina Desalvo, Julia Egan


The Argentina media often report “slave labor” conditions in clothing production and seed nurseries. A critical assessment of the types of coercion (economic and noneconomic) that hold workers under these brutal conditions indicates that instances of extraeconomic coercion are merely the extreme manifestation of a general situation in which economic coercion predominates. The determinants of the deterioration of working conditions in these two sectors include relative overpopulation and technological backwardness.

Book Review, Cien Años de Lucha: Narratives of Cuba’s Revolutionary History

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Cien Años de Lucha: Narratives of Cuba’s Revolutionary History
by William M. LeoGrande

Cuba, the Media, and the Challenge of Impartiality

Lamrani Salim Cuba, the Media, and the Challenge of Impartiality. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2015.

The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five

Morais Fernando The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five. London: Verso, 2015.

Entrepreneurial Cuba: The Changing Policy Landscape

Ritter Archibald R. M. & Henken Ted A. Entrepreneurial Cuba: The Changing Policy Landscape. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2015.

The Structure of Cuban History: Meaning and Purpose of the Past

Perez Louis A.,Jr. The Structure of Cuban History: Meaning and Purpose of the Past. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013.

Visions of Power in Cuba: Revolution, Redemption, and Resistance, 1959–1979

Guerra Lillian Visions of Power in Cuba: Revolution, Redemption, and Resistance, 1959–1979. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.

Revolutionary Cuba: A History

Martínez-Fernández Luis Revolutionary Cuba: A History. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2014.

“Revolution means . . . changing everything that must be changed,” said Fidel Castro on May 1, 2000. This slogan has become the watchword for the far-reaching changes under way since 2008, when Raúl Castro succeeded Fidel as president.1 In 2011 Cuba embarked upon a fundamental reorganization of the economy as outlined in the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution adopted at the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC, 2011). Then on December 17, 2014, President Castro and President Barack Obama stunned the world by announcing their agreement to begin normalizing U.S.-Cuban relations, setting aside half a century of hostility.

Interview with LAP Coordinating Editor Dr. Miguel Tinker Salas on The Crisis in Venezuela

Dr. Miguel Tinker Salas, a Coordinating Editor of Latin American Perspectives (LAP), discusses the recent crisis in Venezuela and how the US media has covered the crisis, often leaving out coverage of the large number of demonstrators in support of Venezuela's socialist programs. He is a professor of Latin American History and Chicano/a Latino/a Studies at Pomona College in Claremont, California, US.

Abstract, The Media and Power in Postliberal Venezuela The Legacy of Chávez for the Debate on Freedom of Expression

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The Media and Power in Postliberal Venezuela
The Legacy of Chávez for the Debate on Freedom of Expression
by Ewa Sapiezynska


Two narratives dominate the literature about the state of freedom of expression in postliberal Venezuela, and they have few points in common, since they depend on different conceptualizations of the notion of freedom of expression. While the traditional liberal narrative focuses on the negative freedom that prohibits state interference, the postliberal narrative is based on positive freedom that encompasses the collective right of self-realization, particularly for the previously marginalized. During the government of Hugo Chávez, the discourse of freedom of expression was renewed, placing it in the context of power relations, accentuating positive freedom, and emphasizing the role of the public and community media. The establishment of the international public channel TeleSUR has revived the 1970s debate about the right to communication and contributed to the creation of a new Latin American-ness.

Abstract, The Media and Power in Postliberal Venezuela The Legacy of Chávez for the Debate on Freedom of Expression

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The Media and Power in Postliberal Venezuela
The Legacy of Chávez for the Debate on Freedom of Expression
by Ewa Sapiezynska


Two narratives dominate the literature about the state of freedom of expression in postliberal Venezuela, and they have few points in common, since they depend on different conceptualizations of the notion of freedom of expression. While the traditional liberal narrative focuses on the negative freedom that prohibits state interference, the postliberal narrative is based on positive freedom that encompasses the collective right of self-realization, particularly for the previously marginalized. During the government of Hugo Chávez, the discourse of freedom of expression was renewed, placing it in the context of power relations, accentuating positive freedom, and emphasizing the role of the public and community media. The establishment of the international public channel TeleSUR has revived the 1970s debate about the right to communication and contributed to the creation of a new Latin American-ness.

Political Report # 1166 El neoliberalismo se basa en políticas sociales penales

Imagen: Jorge Larrosa By Javier Lorca, Pagina12

Malaguti analiza los mecanismos a través de los cuales el régimen neoliberal desmonta el Estado de Bienestar y promueve la criminalización de la política y “discursos del miedo” para ejercer el control social. La obsesión social con la violencia criminal, las políticas represivas, la persistencia cultural del colonialismo, el control social y el neoliberalismo son los principales caminos que explora la socióloga brasileña Vera Malaguti Batista en El miedo en la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, su libro publicado por la editorial de la Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Si bien su trabajo se concentra en Brasil, sus reflexiones extienden su alcance entre las sociedades latinoamericanas. “El neoliberalismo se basa en políticas sociales penales: disuelve al Estado de bienestar y desarrolla un tratamiento de la pobreza desde la política penal”, dice en esta entrevista con Página/12.

Abstract, Counterhegemony in the Media under Rafael Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution by Philip Kitzberger

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Counterhegemony in the Media under Rafael Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution 
by Philip Kitzberger

The Citizens’ Revolution, the political process initiated in Ecuador with the presidential inauguration of Rafael Correa in 2007, initiated a radical transformation in the media comparable to other progressive governmental experiments in the region. The political process led by Correa has pursued a change in power relations and ownership, the introduction of regulation, the demystification of the established media discourse, and an abandonment of the market as a guiding principle in the media. From the perspective of the equitable redistribution of media power, however, it is still an open process whose outcome is uncertain.

Abstract, Counterhegemony in the Media under Rafael Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution by Philip Kitzberger

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Counterhegemony in the Media under Rafael Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution 
by Philip Kitzberger

The Citizens’ Revolution, the political process initiated in Ecuador with the presidential inauguration of Rafael Correa in 2007, initiated a radical transformation in the media comparable to other progressive governmental experiments in the region. The political process led by Correa has pursued a change in power relations and ownership, the introduction of regulation, the demystification of the established media discourse, and an abandonment of the market as a guiding principle in the media. From the perspective of the equitable redistribution of media power, however, it is still an open process whose outcome is uncertain.