About the Project of Special Law against Mediatic Crimes

The General Prosecutor of venezuela could easily have written her proposal of Special Law againts the Mediatic Crimes with only 3 articles:

"Article 1: the articles 57 and 58 of the Constitution, about the freedom of speech and information, are countermanded, just like any other that goes against this law's 2nd article.

Article 2: The Office of the Public Prosecutor will calificate as a mediatic crime every information or opinion that is published or spread by printed press, radio or TV. The judges will sanction with six months to 4 years of prison.

Article 3: The President of the Republic and the Ministry of Security and Defense are entitled to calificate these crimes"

This project of law that, unfortunately for her will always be asosiated with her name, is probably the most savage and outrageous legal text known in Venezuela in the recent history.

As a matter of fact, the articles itself are vague and unclear about the clasification of these "mediatic crimes". This opens a wide space for the discretion of the Office of the Public Prosecutor, whom will have the mission of calificating as a crime whatever they they think it should be.

This projects makes all venezuelans punishable subjects

"Any citizen that expresses through any media (article 3), can be qualified as a "mediatic criminal". A worker of ALCASA that denounciates the chaotic state of the Aluminium factories of Guayana, would be attacking the "National Security", a worker of PDVSA that informs about the paralization of the drills would be attacking the "National Security", one information about the venezuelan weapons that are in the hands of the FARC, would be an attack to the "National Security". Even one mother that cries for her sons' death and is complaining for the situation of the poor neighbourhoods, could be accused of attacking the "social peace". To give the number of people dead by crime could create a "sensation of insecurity". A report about the golf courses in Cuba could harm the "public morale" since the President already stated that golf is a sport of the bourgeoisie, that doesn't fit in the Socialism of the XXI century. Information about strikes or protests would harm the "social peace". And so on, ad infinitum, because the goverment is who's entitled to discern right from wrong. This is why this law isn't something that concern just to journalists or the media, everybody in this country is being defied by this "legal" absurdity.

This project of law must be sent to all Goverments in America, to all the media, so they can appreciate by themselves what kind of totalitarism is being shaped in Venezuela. It's not even requiered to comment it, since it's so obvious and naked, in its repressive nature.

This was written by Teodoro Petkoff, a very famous venezuelan journalist, in spanish. I translated it the best I could, since I'm not used to the legal terms in english