Electoral competition, partisanship, and the media: A look at restrictions on media freedom in Venezuela (2002-2015)

• In Event: Freedom of expression, media development, and contemporary Venezuelan politics

Abstract

After Chavez' election in 1998, rivalries between the government and the media establishment resulted in an open media war waged inside and outside Venezuelan newsrooms. Over the first decade and a half of the XXI century, national and international NGOs have documented more than 2000 cases of restrictions on media freedom where state authorities, party supporters, and private actors have targeted journalists and human rights advocates reporting on political issues. While monitoring organizations have been able to point to drivers of restrictions, including polarization, social unrest, and abuse of power, there are few empirical examinations of the mechanisms through which two of the main features of the state-media feud, namely electoral competition and partisanship, shape restrictions on media in the country.
Using highly disaggregated municipality-day data on restrictions on media freedom in Venezuela (2002-2015), this paper addresses the question of whether and how electoral competition and partisanship shape the incentives of state and non-state actors to crack down on critical media. Taking into consideration the identity of actors and the political contexts in which they operate, I find that the level of mobilization of political factions, rivalries between local incumbents, and the proximity of elections predict patterns of restrictions on media freedom in Venezuela. These findings point to the need to factor in partisanship when studying restrictions on media freedom and to look more closely into the incentives that different actors have when it comes to restricting the dissemination of information during electoral contests.

Author

• Kyong L Mazzaro, Graduate Center, City University of New York