Chavez

According to the article, Chávez Decree Tightens Hold on Intelligence by Simon Romero in the June 3rd, New York Times, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is busy consolidating power from Caracas.

Mark Weisbrot is co-director and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. An economist, Weisbrot is a frequent guest on U.S. television and radio news programs and writes a regular column for the McClatchy-Tribune chain of over 550 newspapers.

By Harnecker, June 06, 2007, Published on ZNet

In the mid 70s the non aligned countries demanded a New World Information and Economic Order. Some time later, this decision led the United States to withdraw from UNESCO. For many decades only five or so monopolies controlled flows of information. It is only now that the demand to understand information as a human right and to democratize access to the media is being seen as a necessary requirement for building systems that are really democratic. The existence of media like Telesur or Al Jazeera, the proliferation of community radio and television stations, the expansion of computer networks and free software and the efforts states are making to take back control of their airwaves are all part of this effort to democratize the airwaves.