Experience has taught us that in the international arena it is always feasible to find a vision less affected by emotions than locally, so it is a question of following up on both outside and inside sources to complement and contrast them. In the search for information on Venezuela in English for the + 58Reports portal, we have verified the impressive penetration of the means of dissemination of information by those who support and defend the Venezuelan regime. In recent weeks, they easily accounted for more than 50% of the content that was located on the Internet. This includes disguised media in the United States, Europe, and from countries you don’t even imagine and that publish and often do so with misleading titles. Media such as Prensa Latina and Telesur are true content factories with strategical distribution. If you want to live in a free world, the Venezuelan opposition as well as the defenders of democracy in the world, have the enormous task of reversing this internet phenomenon. By the way, the only ideology that unites the regimes allied to Venezuela are repression and anti-democracy. The topics of the week are: Social networks silence Trump, The onslaught of the regime and the Complex International situation. It is important not to forget that Covid-19 numbers and currency devaluation are skyrocketing in Venezuela.
Social media mutes Trump
The inability that the main nations in the world have shown to create conditions that allow dealing with the mega-technology companies were clearly revealed when important social networks silenced President Trump. Beyond the specific reasons that have led to this, it is unacceptable to think that private companies determine who can speak and what can be said. Nor do we believe that it is in the interest of companies to carry such a responsibility.
In the New York Times article “In Pulling Trump’s Megaphone, Twitter Shows Where Power Now Lies” there is a good description of the situation: “In the end, two billionaires from California did what legions of politicians, prosecutors and power brokers had tried and failed to do for years: They pulled the plug on President Trump. Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Mr. Trump’s account on Friday “due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” after a decision a day earlier by Facebook to ban the president at least through the end of his term, was a watershed moment in the history of social media. Both companies had spent years defending Mr. Trump’s continued presence on their platforms, only to change course days before the end of his presidency. They have been under pressure for years to hold Mr. Trump accountable, and that pressure intensified enormously this past week, as everyone from Michelle Obama to the companies ’own employees called for a permanent ban in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly Capitol riot. These companies, corporate autocracies masquerading as mini-democracies, often portray their moderation decisions as the results of a kind of formulaic due process, as if “don’t incite an insurrectionist mob” had been in the community guidelines all along. But high-stakes calls like these typically come down to gut decisions made under extreme duress. In this case, Mr. Dorsey and Mr. Zuckerberg considered the evidence, consulted their teams, weighed the trade-offs and risks of inaction – including the threat of a worker revolt that could damage their ability to attract top talent – and decided that they ‘d seen enough. ”
The regime’s onslaught
Together with the National Assembly born out of the questioned elections of the 6D, the regime has launched a strong campaign against the limited free media that continue to operate in the country: Maduro’s regime begins the year with a new attack against the free press and closes seven free press media in Venezuela. Likewise, a joint operation of several organizations of “uniformed” members of the regime was carried out over the weekend in La Vega in Caracas, where there are reports of 23 deaths. Obviously these are actions designed to maintain local control through threat and repression, meanwhile their international allies (Latin America and Europe) make noise defending them. How difficult it is now to just imagine the conditions to negotiate with the regime!
The complex international situation
Information about Venezuela is published on the edge of a major humanitarian collapse, but most of what appears in the external media refers to the weak international position of Guaidó and the NA. You hear and read that the Venezuelan Opposition fights for international legitimacy and simultaneously the European Union sends contradictory messages. Some indicate that the EU is willing to extend sanctions and at the same time MEPs urge Borrell to show more support for Venezuela. Meanwhile, the United States, the most important international actor for Venezuela, is and will be focused for the foreseeable future in solving its complex internal situations and that, as it should be, is its priority now.
