Poll: Chavez Approval 65%, Despite 70% Rejection of TV Channel’s Non-Renewal

[Joanne98]

Caracas, April 25, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)—
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2281 President Chavez’s performance in office continues to be viewed positively by nearly two-thirds of the population, despite a 70% rejection of the non-renewal of the TV broadcast license of RCTV, according to the Venezuelan polling firm Datanalisis. Also, a new Latinobarometro poll finds that Latin Americans view Venezuela as the friendliest country in the Americas.

64.7% of Venezuelans viewed Chavez’s performance in office positively in March and 29.6% viewed it negatively, explained Datanalisis Director Luis Vicente Leon to Venezuela’s foreign press association today. The survey was conducted between March 12 and 23, among 1,300 Venezuelans of all socio-economic levels, with a margin of error of 2.7%.

A breakdown of the population’s perception of the country’s current situation shows that opinions about Venezuela are still sharply divided along class lines. In the country’s upper class—known as “A/B” among Venezuelan demographers—only 38.2% of this group views the country’s situation positively. The perception is progressively more positive, the lower people’s income, so that in the country’s largest and poorest class, known as “E,” 68.9% view the country’s situation positively.

However, when asked how Venezuelans view their personal situation, an overwhelming majority (over 60%) in all classes view it as positive.

While Chavez continues to enjoy high levels of support, opposition parties are the least respected institutions in the country, with only 26.8% of the population viewing them positively. Among the most favorably viewed institutions are the church, at 80%, and private enterprise, between 75 and 88%, depending on the sector.

With regard to the government’s performance in various areas, the most favorable areas were social programs, such as in education, food, and health, with approval ratings of 68.8%, 64.7%, and 64.2% respectively. The government received its lowest score in the area of providing personal security, with a mere 8.4% approval rating.

Another area where the government received a low approval rating was its decision not to renew the broadcast license of the private TV channel RCTV, whose license expires on May 27th. Nearly 70% of Venezuelans disapprove of the decision, while only 16.4% support it. The RCTV survey was conducted separately between April 9 and 16.

According to Leon, RCTV is the country’s most popular TV channel and those who watch the channel are much more concerned about losing its soap operas and game shows than its political programming. “Chavez will not come out of this unhurt with regard to his popularity,” said Leon and added that this was perhaps the most unpopular decision Chavez has made during his entire presidency.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2281

You know. All Chavez has to do is use public broadcasting to create his own soap operas and game shows. I hope he's thought of that.

[GreenTea]

1. Unlike Bush & republicans Chavez cares for his people-not just the rich & the corporations

which is the ONLY thing BushCo cares about!

Viva Chavez!

[Joanne98]

2. I agree! God Bless Hugo!

:pals:

[Peace Patriot]

3. I thought the soap operas and game shows were going to continue. I remember

reading this in the first articles about the denial of RCTV's license to use the public airwaves, that it was the local station that was being denied the license, not the network which is international and which provides the entertainment shows.

But I can't find any information about this now. Anybody know?

For info on what RCTV did during the coup attempt, watch the Irish filmmakers' documentary "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (available at AxisOfLogic.com). RCTV hosted meetings of the coup plotters, honored them with a chatty round table talk show after they had kidnapped Chavez and while he was still in captivity, and aided them with gross disinformation in their news broadcasts during the coup itself.

If Faux News advocated the kidnapping of Nancy Pelosi, the shutdown of Congress and the courts and the suspension of our Constitution, and actively hosted the people who were doing these things, would we be justified in denying Faux News use of our public airwaves?

That is the issue, and I think most people in Venezuela know that. This is why Chavez approval remains in the stratosphere, despite the low opinion of Venezuelans regarding the non-renewal of RCTV's license, which is based not on any love for RCTV's traitorous news department, but rather on network-provided entertainment (--same with Faux TV here; lots of entertainment shows that people like).

And God knows we are perilously close to exactly that happening here. If we are able to restore our right to vote, and vote in a Congress that actually does something about the war, the military budget and corporate rule, I can see Faux News spearheading a coup, just like RCTV. We have a slow-motion coup occurring as it is, with Faux News leading the pack of monsters who are destroying our country and our democracy. If we are able to restore transparent vote counting and democracy here, we would be wise to begin reform with busting up the corporate news monopolies and restoring the "Fairness Doctrine" for use of our public airwaves.

For non-brainwashing information about Venezuela, www.venezuelanalysis.com is a good place to start. Our war profiteering corporate news monopolies badmouth Hugo Chavez, aping the Bush State Dept., but who they are really badmouthing is the people of Venezuela, who have repeatedly elected Chavez and approved his reforms, in elections that are the most highly monitored on earth, and have been certified as open and aboveboard by the Carter Center, the OAS and EU election monitoring groups. In Venezuela, they use electronic voting, but it is with OPEN SOURCE CODE (anyone may review the code by which votes are tabulated) and they handcount FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT of the ballots, as a check against machine fraud. Here, we use electronic voting and central tabulators run on 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled mostly by two rightwing Bushite corporations, Diebold and ES&S. Know how much we handcount as a check on machine fraud? ZERO % in many states, and only 1% in the best of states. That's why Venezuela has a government that represents the majority poor population, and we have a government that represents "the haves and the have-mores" (as our Tyrant so eloquently put it).

It is this vast majority of poor people and their allies in the middle class whom our corporate news monopolies and the Bush State Dept. loathe and fear. Not just Chavez. He is just one man. It is the People and their democratic power that the fascists oppose and want to squash.

One of the most interesting stats in this article is this: "..when asked how Venezuelans view their personal situation, an overwhelming majority (over 60%) in all classes view it as positive." Another is their approval of "private enterprise"--at 75% even among the poor. Chavista socialism has not harmed private enterprise in Venezuela. On the contrary, by funding small businesses with loans and grants, by improving social conditions in every way--education, medical care, low cost housing--by encouraging enterprising worker coops, by land reform, by fair taxation of the oil giants, and other measures, Chavista socialism is creating viable, self-supporting CONSUMERS. The private sector is thriving in Venezuela--it has shown the most growth of all sectors.

It seems they've taken a lesson from Henry Ford, that cunning old fox, who realized that if he paid his workers a decent wage, they could then afford to buy his cars! You CAN'T HAVE prosperity for just one tiny class of people. It will collapse of its own weight--which is what is happening here. They loot, they plunder and they crash the economy. And they hate leaders like Chavez--as they hated our own FDR, and demonized him, just as they do Chavez--leaders who represent the interests of all, and, if the truth were known, even the interests of the rich. Good government, solid regulation of banks and other institutions, environmental regulation, protection and rights for the work force, a peaceful, orderly, prosperous society, high on education, a society in which the poor have hope, is good for EVERYBODY. The greedy are so stupid they don't know that. They have to be reined in by the rest of us.

That's all that Chavez and his government are doing, from what I can see, and I've studied the matter pretty thoroughly. They are REINING IN the stupid rich.

And if we can ever restore transparent vote counting, maybe we can do the same thing here.

[Joanne98]

4. You've probably already read this but....

the tv station is getting a hearing in front of the OAS. I personnally think these people at this station should be thrown out of the country after what they did. They're probably spies anyway.

Venezuelan TV Channel Case to Go Before the OAS Human Rights Court

Thursday, Apr 26, 2007

By: Chris Carlson - Venezuelanalysis.com

Mérida, April 26, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— The Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS) accused the Venezuelan government of "human rights violations" in the case of the private television channel RCTV. The case will now go before the Inter-American Human Rights Court, reported RCTV yesterday.

The Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said that the Venezuelan government is responsible for "violating the human rights, freedom of expression, and personal safety" of the RCTV workers and journalists.

The case originated after workers and journalists of the channel brought a case before the IHRC in 2002, claiming that the Venezuelan government was violating their freedom of expression due to various "physical and moral aggression" against workers and journalists. The Commission released a decision on December 20th, 2006, stating that the rights of RCTV workers had been violated, and making various recommendations to the Venezuelan government with respect to the case.

The Commission had asked the Chávez government to guarantee the RCTV workers conditions in which they can operate, to not attack the workers and journalists of the channel, and to investigate and punish those who had made any such attacks. The Commission informed yesterday that the government had not complied with their requests and the case would therefore be brought before the court.

In addition to the previous case regarding workers and journalists of the private channel, the Commission will also include the more recent case of non-renewal of RCTV's broadcast license.

Chávez announced the decision to not renew the broadcast license of the private channel last December. The Government maintains that they reserve the sovereign right to grant or deny broadcast licenses on the public radio-electric spectrum. They also make the case that the private channel was involved in the 2002 coup attempt against the Chávez government.

However, the directors of the RCTV channel, along with opposition politicians, maintain that the Chávez government has made the decision to "punish" them for their "independent" news coverage and their criticism of the government. The channel's broadcast license expires on May 27th, when they will no longer be able to broadcast on the VHF spectrum. RCTV directors claim that the decision could affect more than 4,000 employees.

"The Venezuelan government should respect the fundamental conditions so that RCTV can carry out its journalistic work," said RCTV's judicial consultant Oswaldo Quintana. He insisted that not renewing their broadcast license would be "violating the recommendations" of the OAS, an "organization that the government must respect."

The case will now pass before the Inter-American Human Rights Court, which will make the final decision. According to analysts, this process could take between one and two years before the court makes any declaration.

President Chávez, however, has already said that he will not give into any pressure on the case. Last Sunday, on his TV program Aló Presidente, Chávez made his position clear.

"It's very clear," he said, "the broadcast license expired and the state, who is the owner, reserves the right to give it to another organization or to other sectors."

Chávez said that regardless of national or international pressures, he would "never" change his decision.

[yurbud]

5. how long until the Chavez bashers show up on this thread? Or will they hope it will

quickly be buried?

[Vidar]

6. In democratic countries, like Venezuela, 65% constitutes the

"ruling class", even if they are poor Just waxing nostalgic for life before the Bush coup