Venezuela now unfree, Hugo Chavez doesn't seem so committed to democracy after all.

[thedamn...@gmail.com]

http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fop/2007/fopdraftreport.pdf

"Venezuela
Status: Not Free
Legal Environment: 26
Political Environment: 30
Economic Environment: 18
Total Score: 74
A hostile political atmosphere under the government of President Hugo
Chavez has fostered a steady decline in press freedom over the past
several years, and that trend continued in 2006. State initiatives
have eroded the influence of the private media, in which the previous
dominance of pro-opposition outlets has been dwindling. Among other
actions, the government has enacted legislation prohibiting the
broadcast of certain material, intimidated and denied access to
private media, attempted to shut down pro-opposition outlets, and
harassed journalists employed at such outlets.
The legal environment for the press remains poor. The Law of Social
Responsibility in Radio and Television, signed in December 2004,
contains vaguely worded restrictions that could be used to severely
limit freedom of expression. For example, the law forbids graphic
depictions of violence between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. on both television
and radio. In March 2005 the penal code was revised to make insulting
the president punishable by 6 to 30 months in prison. Furthermore,
comments that could "expose another person to contempt or public
hatred" are subject to one to three years in prison as well as a
severe fine. Inaccurate reporting that "disturbs the public peace"
carries a prison sentence of two to five years. In January 2006, a
judge issued a gag order barring the media from reporting on the
investigation into the high-profile murder of prosecutor Danilo
Anderson, including descriptions of the key witness's credibility
problems. At least three journalists were convicted and sentenced for
defamation in 2006, with several others under investigation. In May
the governor of Bolivar state called for the eviction of the newspaper
El Correo del Caroni, which had been critical of his administration;
in June, the paper's power was cut for five hours.
Government cadenas (announcements) require that broadcasters cease
regular programming to transmit official messages; 182 such cadenas
were issued in 2006. Independent journalists complained that a lack of
access impeded their reporting; they were often denied entry to
military ceremonies and other official events that state media
representatives were allowed to attend. In June, Chavez announced his
intention to review the licenses of private broadcasters. The year's
most dramatic media event occurred on December 28, when the
authorities announced that the license of RCTV, a prominent pro-
opposition network, would not be renewed and the channel would go off
the air by May 2007. The decision was decried by media watchdogs, who
questioned the decision's motivation, legality, and lack of
transparency.
Direct assaults on the media continued to occur regularly in 2006.
Local media watchdog IPYS issued eight alerts throughout the year
regarding aggression against the television channel Globovision alone.
Three journalists were murdered, including a photographer who captured
his killer, a policeman, in one of his last photos. Many other
journalists reported beatings and threats. Tension rose throughout the
preelection period, with both opposition and government reporters
facing assaults by ideological opponents. In the days leading up to
the election, Chavez warned that private stations would be closed if
they violated bans on the release of exit-poll data. In a related
incident, prominent congresswoman Iris Varela called on Chavez
supporters to be ready to seize control of private media if they
announced an opposition victory. The European Union reported that
while both pro-opposition and progovernment media reflected strong
partisan tendencies throughout their campaign coverage, Chavez
dominated "institutional publicity" by a margin of 19 to 1.
The government controls four national television stations, a national
radio network, and a wire service, all of which have benefited from
budget increases. The president has a weekly television show
(scheduled to switch to a nightly radio program in 2007) and exercises
his power to preempt programming to ensure extensive coverage of
government announcements in private media. Local and regional media
are particularly dependent on government advertising revenue, leaving
them vulnerable to economic retaliation for criticism. In November,
the mayor of the city of Maturin imposed a "publicity ban" on several
newspapers and radio stations. There are no government restrictions on
the internet, which had over three million users (nearly 13 percent of
the population) by the end of 2006."

[TiradeFaction]

I'm unsure about Chavez now, but I know he has some supporters here.
What do you guys think?

[thedamn...@gmail.com]

I would like to see some other opinions and responses.

[GodDamnArchive]

In March 2005 the penal code was revised to make insulting the
president punishable by 6 to 30 months in prison. Furthermore,
comments that could "expose another person to contempt or public
hatred" are subject to one to three years in prison as well as a
severe fine. Inaccurate reporting that "disturbs the public peace"
carries a prison sentence of two to five years. In January 2006, a
judge issued a gag order barring the media from reporting on the
investigation into the high-profile murder of prosecutor Danilo
Anderson, including descriptions of the key witness's credibility
problems. At least three journalists were convicted and sentenced for
defamation in 2006, with several others under investigation. In May
the governor of Bolivar state called for the eviction of the newspaper
El Correo del Caroni, which had been critical of his administration;
in June, the paper's power was cut for five hours.