Freedom of expression, media development, and contemporary Venezuelan politics

Session Submission Type: LASA Section Panel

Abstract

Over the last two decades, adversarial relations between the government and the media establishment have reshaped Venezuelan politics. The papers in this panel look into the modalities and implications of strategies used by Venezuelan state and non-state actors to disseminate or halt the dissemination of information on political issues. They address three overlapping questions regarding the Venezuelan case: how have government-sponsored media campaigns impacted freedom of expression, access to information, and democratic participation?; what is the effect of electoral competition and partisanship on patterns of restrictions on media freedom?; and how has international aid transformed investigative journalism and news media?

Sub Track

• Section Sessions

Session Organizer

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

Chair

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

Discussant

• Matias Ponce

Individual Presentations

• Propaganda, distracción e infiltración. Tres estrategias del chavismo en Twitter - Iria Puyosa, Universidad Central de Venezuela

• Electoral competition, partisanship, and the media: A look at restrictions on media freedom in Venezuela (2002-2015) - Kyong L Mazzaro, Graduate Center, City University of New York

• Blanket Presidential Broadcasts, “cadenas,” in a restrictive framework on Freedom of Information - Andres A Cañizalez, Universidad Católica Andres Bello