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We should back Hugo Chavez

Colin Burgon

It's not too late to stand against the Washington consensus on Latin America.

— PHOTO: AP

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez gestures to supporters in Caracas on May 5.

NEOCONSERVATIVE FORCES, via compliant media outlets and Christian Right groupings within the European Parliament, are preparing their latest attack on Hugo Chavez and the Government of Venezuela. The latest focus of the campaign is the decision of Venezuela's broadcasting authorities not to renew the licence of the private television channel RCTV.

Washington's outriders characterise the decision as an affront to freedom of speech, yet the facts speak in louder tones. More than 80 per cent of Venezuelan television and radio outlets are privately owned; this excludes a number of cable and satellite television networks that are widely available. Of this 80 per cent, significant sections are owned by corporate groups. According to a recent New York Times editorial, this has led to a situation in which "even the best news outlets tend to be openly ideological ... so the owners' views can permeate reporting."

Almost all Venezuelan newspapers remain in private hands. The press is free to report, and express opinions, without government interference. Most do so with considerable brio on a daily basis. No media outlet has encountered licensing problems for the expression of political views. No journalist has been imprisoned or punished for report or comment.

In RCTV's case, the broadcaster failed to meet basic public interest standards. The criterion for this assessment is similar to that used by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. RCTV will be free to broadcast via cable and satellite, which are available across the country.

In the United Kingdom, if a TV channel aided an attempted coup against the government that resulted in civil unrest and even death, would anyone be supporting the renewal of its licence? RCTV has lost its licence because its wealthy owners slanted news coverage to provide support to the April 2002 coup against President Chavez and the elected government. This will not be news to those who gathered in the U.K. Parliament last week to view John Pilger's excellent documentary The War on Democracy, which shows footage of RCTV involvement.

As the coup failed and Venezuelans questioned Mr. Chavez's "resignation," RCTV prohibited correspondents from airing these developments.

So what hope is there for us in the U.K. that our representatives in the European Union might withstand right-wing pressure and argue against a discriminatory move against Venezuela at a meeting in Strasbourg next week? If the U.K. Foreign Office's public strategy document "Latin America to 2020" is anything to go by, not very much.

Lord Triesman, the document's main author and a Foreign Office Minister, outlines an adherence to free-market liberalism and singularly defined democracy as the prerequisites for British engagement in Latin America. The document shows that the British Government remains committed to the neoliberal model as a means of tackling the highest levels of social inequality in the world. However, anyone interested in nations such as Venezuela or Bolivia can see that the "Washington consensus" trade and aid packages have failed the most desperate people of those nations.

In the document, many Latin American leaders are named and congratulated, yet Mr. Chavez receives no such recognition. The U.K. Foreign Office appears to ignore the reasons for the popularity of Mr. Chavez, Evo Morales in Bolivia, and Rafael Correa in Ecuador: the failure of neoliberal policies imposed by Washington and endorsed by the EU.

It is not too late for a Labour Government in the U.K. to engage with those who wish to achieve justice for their peoples. Events in Strasbourg next week provide an opportunity for the U.K. Government to show reason and goodwill. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

(Colin Burgon is a Labour MP in the British Parliament and chair of Labour Friends of Venezuela.)

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