Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04CARACAS3583
2004-11-19 20:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:  

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESSES FORWARD ON MEDIA LAW

Tags:  PHUM KDEM PGOV VE 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 003583 

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2024
TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV VE
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESSES FORWARD ON MEDIA LAW

REF: A. STATE 223273

B. CARACAS 03365

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASON 1.4(d)

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SUMMARY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 003583

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2024
TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV VE
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESSES FORWARD ON MEDIA LAW

REF: A. STATE 223273

B. CARACAS 03365

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASON 1.4(d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Veneuela's National Assembly approved 17 more articles
in sessions on November 9, 11, 15, and 18. A top priority of
President Hugo Chavez, the GoV seeks to complete the
legislation by December 15. Beginning November 8, opposition
parties withdrew from negotiations begun on September 23 with
Minister of Communication Andres Izarra. Deputies postponed
discussion of articles establishing the criteria for
independent producers, which is likely to stir the most
heated debate. With a total of 36 articles to discuss prior
to approval, and a month to finish discussion, most observers
and participants in the debate expect passage of the law,
incorporating a few, relatively insignificant changes, by the
end of the 2004 legislative session in December. END SUMMARY.

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PRESSURE FROM THE TOP
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2. (U) Minister of Communication and Information Andres
Izarra is leading the government's public campaign in support
of the media content law. Seeking to undermine media and
opposition claims that the law is meant to censor the media
and help strengthen President Hugo Chavez's control of the
country, Izarra has sought to portray the law simply as a
measure to protect children, parents, and families from
inappropriate language, violence, and sexual content. On
September 23, Izarra installed a "technical committee" to
discuss the law's provisions, and come to agreement on
priorities and specific bill language.

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COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER ADMITS LAW IS "IMPOSSIBLE TO APPLY"
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3. (U) In an interview with daily "El Universal" published on
10/17, Izarra admitted that the law is impossible to apply at
the present time. He said implementation would have to be
gradual until enough national independent producers (NIPs)
come on-line and can fulfill the NIP quota as prescribed in
the law. Izarra admitted that in the meeting deputies
convinced him that some articles need to be "refined and made

more precise" because they are "not viable" as currently
written. He also called the law's requirement that NIP's have
no connection what-so-over to the media "an aberration" and
"unsustainable."

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THE VIEW FROM THE LEGISLATURE
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4. (U) The National Assembly is two-thirds of the way through
the second required reading of the bill. In a sign of how
emotional the debate has been, attempts to begin this reading
were marred by a near fist-fit, televised from the assembly
floor.


5. (C) Opposition legislators echo concerns raised by the
media, particularly regarding the national telecommunications

agency's (CONATEL's) role in the implementation of the law.
The National Assembly's Media Committee President, Luis
Berdugo (Accion Democratica),told Poloff he believed the
strong push for the law before the October 31 regional
elections was a move to "turn up the heat" and change the
subject of the national debate away from allegations of fraud
in the recall referendum. He told Poloff that the
opposition's only tactics are to "denounce, delay, and
distract," but thinks the effort is futile, predicting
passage of the law (with a few changes) before year's end.


6. (C) In a conversation with Poloff on October 25, Primero
Justicia deputy Gerardo Blyde expressed optimism that
Communications Minister Izarra was willing to negotiate in
good faith to improve the law, incorporating some modest but
important changes favored by the media. Blyde, who says he
has known the minister for many years (since "before he was a
Chavista") regarded Izarra as a reasonable interlocutor and
negotiator. Blyde said the test would be to see if President
Chavez continued to allow Izarra to negotiate, or forced a
harder line. Citing a new lack of GoV willingness to
negotiate, on November 8 Blyde announced that the Primero
Justicia party would withdraw from the "technical committee."
The following day, first Accion Democratica (A.D.),then
Copei and La Causa R also withdrew from the discussions.


7. (C) Pro-GoV proponents of the law have been unwilling to
discuss it with Poloff. Appointments were twice canceled and
not rescheduled. However, one MVR deputy who is a proponent
of the law, when approached in another setting, repeated the
GoV's talking points about the "protection of children and
families" nature of the law, and when challenged about the
"no violence" journalism concerns, sought to reassure Poloff
that the language was being changed to loosen those
restrictions and that the news media had nothing to worry
about.

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CONDEMNATION AND CONCERN FROM NGO'S
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8. (U) In November, several NGO's that deal with press issues
have expressed their serious concern over the intent and
likely effects of the law. Chief among them are the
Inter-American Human Rights Commission (under the
Organization of American States),the Inter-American Press
Association (IAPA),and Reporters without Borders. IAPA
released a strongly worded statement after their annual
conference in Guatemala, while the IAHRC statement provoked a
quick reply from the Minister of Communications, who termed
it unwelcome interference in domestic affairs. While Human
Rights Watch has not recently commented on the law, their top
Venezuela expert in Washington told Poloff earlier this fall
that the content law and the overall issue of freedom of the
press is the organization's top priority in Venezuela
presently.

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COMMENT
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9. (C) The National Assembly is pressing article by article
to pass the media content law. Pro-GoV deputies have the
simple majority needed for passage. For their part, much of
the media now seem resigned to their fate. Union Radio, the
largest news radio station in the country, last week
announced a revamped broadcast schedule, which they said

would include less opinion-based programming.
Brownfield


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2004CARACA03583 - CONFIDENTIAL