Politics
If anybody summarizes and embodies the Venezuelan radio, that is César Miguel Rondón. With 35-year experience, Rondón has acted as producer, director, interviewer and anchorman. His unmistakable voice can be listened by millions and now, when the government threatens the most emotional, close and democratic medium, Rondón tells us things like this.

Is Diosdado Cabello (the Minister of Public Works and Housing, and executive director of the Venezuelan Telecommunications Commission, Conatel) right when he says that there is a radio large ownership and there is need to democratize it?

To begin with, it is an absurd term, because the government is the one which controls most of the radio stations. When the minister talks about democratization, he warns that those signals should be given to the people, but on the understanding that the government is the people. Defeated in its attempt at being reelected Miranda state governor and previously inside his own party, Cabello is not the most appropriate person to speak in the people's name.

So, is Cabello lying?

Yes, he is. But there is not such democratization either, because otherwise, Cabello should ask listeners. The bottom line is that you are a good or bad communicator and I think that this is the problem of a government which, despite its huge communicational power, has very low rating levels.

Do you suggest that "democratization" is due to these low rating levels?

In the case of the Éxitos network, our radio stations are the nationwide leaders in their segments. There are plenty of radio stations, and you would rather listen to one, instead of another, because this is your right. Now, therefore, if you offer good programming and a good message, then I will listen to you. It is not my fault that government communicators are such a gang of useless pirates. How come that the massive audience of (private TV channel Radio Caracas Televisión) RCTV boiled down to almost nothing in a matter of a second when it turned into (government-run TV channel) Tves? It was because they failed to meet the expectations. Is our message more lethal and uncomfortable for the government? Ok. So, why do not they produce good communication then?

Totalitarian regimes not only used to attack, suppress, torture or banish political dissenters, but also banned abstract arts for being degenerate; such and such music and literature were imposed. Is this attack on the radio linked with an attempt at imposing a political and cultural trend which excludes all the other trends?

An attack came from another side, that is (Attorney General) Luisa Ortega Díaz, who brought up a banner of fascism –the crime of opinion, in force only in dictatorship. According to her, we are giving an opinion by supplying information, and one wonders what chemically pure mechanism she uses to separate information from opinion. In a democratic country, citizens are free to give an opinion. If a crime, then throw off the mask, Ms. Díaz and let Mr. Cabello say it bluntly: "What I do want is to crush the radio, do away with it, finish if off; because I do not accept any dissent at all. The truth is only mine. Whoever saying anything different is a sinner and should be condemned." This is what has been posed. Anything else is nonsense. Some of us believe in the democratic system, and some other cannot stand sharing the country. Since we think otherwise, then they would rather wipe us out. They try to deprive us of our support, our work, the way to express ourselves, and at this pace, they will eventually take the country off.

Would you defend in the street your listeners' right?

I think everyone would do it.

But you are a public opinion leader.

I am just a communicator. Let us see what happens. The government wants to remove any unsuitable information and expects the world to be like it says. Let us see whether Venezuelans will accept it. I think they will not.

Translated by Conchita Delgado

Roberto Giusti
EL UNIVERSAL