http://worldmeets.us/images/Venezuela-protest-injury-2014_pic.jpg

Student protesters carry a comrade after he was injured by police. With

the situation escalating and his network being threatened with ejection

from Venezuela, El Universal spoke to CNN Espanol host Fernando del

Rincon about what's really happening.

PHOTO: CNN ESPANOL

[Click Here for CNN Espanol Photo Gallery]

 

 

CNN Host Advises Venezuelans: 'Don't Believe Falsehoods' (El Universal, Venezuela)

 

"I am an adversary of censorship. ... As a journalist, I couldn't live under censorship or under any imposed editorial line. I would prefer not to pursue my profession. ... In Venezuela today, there is censorship. That isn't something I think, it's something I see. Anyone can see it. ... Chavista leaders see what they want to see. The picture I have is of a very closed group. There is no room for those who don't follow their script - and that is their project for the nation. Democracies persuade - not force. There you have the difference: they want the project they present to be an obligation."

 

-- Fernando del Rincon, Host of CNN's Conclusiones

 

By Daniel Fermin

 

Translated By Florizul Acosta Perez

 

February 26, 2014 

 

Venezuela - El Universal - Original Article (Spanish)

When El Universal spoke to CNN Spanish-language host Fernando del Rincon, he had some surprisingly candid comments on the situation in the country, warning people 'not to believe falsehoods' and suggesting that the Maduro government is close-minded and undemocratic.

 

Web Video: A student activist in Venezuela offers her sense of what is going on in the country, Feb. 14, 00:06:50RealVideo

Fernando del Rincon, born in Morelos, Mexico in 1969, covers the situation in Venezuela in his daily program Conclusiones (CNN Spanish, 10:30 pm EST). Since the student protests began in San Cristobal last week up to the court hearing for Leopoldo Lopez on Feb. 19, the Mexican journalist has sought to provide space for both sides of today's ideological divide.

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

CNN, U.S.: President Maduro Retracts Threat, Allows CNN Reporters To Stay

 

Students who participated in the protests, Elias Jaua, Maria Corina Machado, Roy Chaderton and Lilian Tintori, all appeared on the international chain. Del Rincon isn't concerned about rumors that the channel may be excluded by the state of Venezuela (as was already done in the case of Colombia's NTN24 on February 12). "I'm at peace with it, because we are providing balances reporting. We are working with trusted sources and verified facts," said the social communicator, who has worked for the U.S.-based broadcaster since 2010.

 

EL UNIVERSAL: Is it possible to maintain balance in regard to the independent press when the state has such a communication advantage?

 

FERNANDO DEL RINCON: I don't think one should take a position. Yes - you must show some balance by helping the weaker side in terms of broadcasting. When one side has 20 programs for disseminating information and the other has only one, an attempt must be made to compensate in order to offer a balance of information. The disadvantaged party needs to attract - to seek out its own programming. That is the context lived under in Venezuela, and within that context, reporters must work to compensate for such inequality.

 

The Internet is one of the communication alternatives in a nation where private or independent media have less and less freedom. And that, according to Fernando del Rincon, should be accessible to all.

 

FERNANDO DEL RINCON: It's a fact that networks are a form of communication. The printed press media has abandoned paper and turned to the Web in order to disseminate news. Press conferences are conducted live over the Internet ... and students also report through various applications. If you lack other means, you have to look for new windows: Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The point is to be rigorous - and not believe falsehoods devised only to trigger a reaction.

 

EL UNIVERSAL: Venezuelan journalists have quit their jobs due to censorship or the self-censorship imposed on them. What should a communicator do in cases like this? Suggest a position? Defend his point? Step aside?

 

FERNANDO DEL RINCON: I am an adversary of censorship. I have never worked at a company that censored me. As a journalist, I couldn't live under censorship or under any imposed editorial line. I would prefer not to pursue my profession than to work under conditions that prevent me from expressing myself, ... In Venezuela today, there is censorship. That isn't something I think, it's something I see. Anyone can see it.

 

Fernando del Rincon thinks there is a lot of confusion in the country today - on both sides. What began as a protest against insecurity became political, and with arrest of Leopoldo Lopez, the students got off track.

 

FERNANDO DEL RINCON: What's missing on both sides is a search for dialogue. There will come a time when they will have to talk and hold a dialogue. If they want this to end well, there must be dialogue. Otherwise there will be no end to this - it will continue. ...  Right now, I see that the table is set for genuine dialogue, but one of the guests is moving further away from the door than it is today. The other possibility is what we are seeing today: there is death, there is violence."

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

Like Worldmeets.US on Facebook

 

 

EL UNIVERSAL: Several days ago, you met with Chavista leaders (government leaders). You held discussions with them. What image remains for you?

 

FERNANDO DEL RINCON: The correct answer is that they see what they want to see. The picture I have is of a very closed group. There is no room for those who don't follow their script - and that is their project for the nation. Democracies persuade - not force. There you have the difference: they want the project they present to be an obligation. Chavismo convinces before elections, and then it forgets.

 

EL UNIVERSAL: And the opposition leaders? What do you think?

 

FERNANDO DEL RINCON: Opposition leaders have fallen into repetitive rhetoric, so when someone like Leopoldo Lopez arrives with a different way of speaking - it attracts attention. You have to be open to other methods of communicating. You must restate and renew in order to make everyone understand your message.

 

EL UNIVERSAL: And are the protests a form of expression? Do you think they will lead anywhere?

 

FERNANDO DEL RINCON: They are already accomplishing something. They have provoked an international reaction. The eyes of the world are on Venezuela. If there is something more they are meant to achieve, I don't know. If there is a meeting point and dialogue, maybe so. If not, there will be larger confrontations.

 

dfermin@eluniversal.com

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

El Universal, Venezuela: Maduro Accuses CNN of Preparing Ground for 'Gringo' Invasion

Pagina 12, Argentina: Venezuela Calls U.S. and Canada More Repressive

BBC News, U.K.: Venezuela Threatens to Expel CNN Over Protest Coverage

Global Times, China: Demonized by the West, Hugo Chavez was a Friend to China

Mehr News Agency, Iran: Ahmadinejad: Chavez Will Be 'Resurrected with Christ the Savior'

Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Claim that Chavez will be Resurrected with Jesus 'Went Too Far'

El Nacional, Venezuela: Maduro Asserts: U.S. 'Infected' Chavez with Deadly Illness

Novosti, Russia: With Chavez' Death, Communist Chief Sees a U.S. 'Cancer' Plot  

La Voz Mundo, Venezuela: Facing Reelection Fight, Hugo Chavez Plays 'Obama Card'

Diario de Cuyo, Argentina: Hugo Chavez and Barack Obama: A Common Electoral Challenge  

El Tiempo, Colombia: What Good is Our New, U.S.-Free 'Community'?  

Estadao, Brazil: In Latin America, Rhetoric Triumphs Over Reality  

La Razon, Bolivia: Latin America Has Excluded the U.S. … So What Now?

ABC, Spain: Hugo Chavez Calls Terrorism Indictment a U.S.-Spanish Plot  

Folha, Brazil: Latin American Unity Cannot Be Dependent on Excluding the U.S.  

La Jornada, Mexico: Latin America's March Toward 'Autonomy from Imperial Center'

La Jornada, Mexico: Militarization of Latin America: Obama 'Ahead of Bush'

O Globo, Brazil: U.S. Navy Shows That What U.S. Can Do, Brazil Can Also Do  

Clarin, Argentina: Resurrected U.S. Fourth Fleet Creates Suspicion Across South America

Le Figaro, France: U.S. Navy 'Resurrects' Fourth Fleet to Patrol Latin America

Semana, Colombia: Hugo Chávez Isn't 'Paranoid' to Fear the U.S. Marines  

Tal Cual, Venezuela: President Chavez 'Puts Early End' to Honeymoon with Obama

El Universal, Venezuela: Obama is No 'Black in Chavez' Pocket'

Gazeta, Russia: Latin Americans Will Sooner or Later Come 'Crawling' to the U.S.

Gazeta, Russia: Castro and Chavez Split Over Obama

El Tiempo, Colombia: 'Tropical Napoleon' Melts Before Obama's 'Empire'

El Tiempo, Colombia: Survey: Obama 'Most Popular Leader' in the Americas

El Espectador, Colombia: Cuba in Obama's Sights

El Mundo, Colombia: Obama: A Man Who Takes His Promises Seriously

La Razon, Bolivia: President Morales Suspects U.S. Behind Attempt on His Life

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH VERSION

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted By Worldmeets.US Feb. 26, 2014, 1:39am