The government of Javier Milei, from Argentina, removed the Telesur channel, controlled by the Venezuelan government, from the open digital TV grid. On Tuesday (7), Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called the decision censorship.
“Milei is afraid of Telesur. Telesur will pull its paws. The people will see Telesur on social media, they will not be able to censor Telesur,” said Maduro in a broadcast.
The Telesur signal will no longer be broadcast on open digital TV on July 1stbut will continue to appear on pay TV.
According to the newspaper “Clarín”, today, the countries that are Telesur partners are:
- Venezuela,
- Cuba and
- Nicaragua.
Telesur was founded by former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, and Argentina became a partner in the company — the country had 14% of the shares, which were sold by the government in 2016, when Mauricio Macri was in power.
During the same administration, Telesur was removed from the digital TV grid, but when Alberto Fernández, from the left, took power, and, in 2020, he put the channel’s signal back on the air.
Milei’s government has been making spending cuts, and state TV channels have taken a hit.
This Thursday (9), there was a general strike against Milei’s adjustment policies. The streets were semi-deserted, with businesses open but without customers, little public transport and schools closed in Buenos Aires. It was a 24-hour strike in protest against the economic reform law being discussed in the Senate.
The main railway terminals were empty, flights were canceled and only a few bus lines were running.
There were no marches or public events in Buenos Aires, but in provinces such as Córdoba, Río Negro and Chubut, groups of strikers took to the streets.
Tags: Milei government removes Venezuelan state channel Argentine open digital Maduro talks censorship World
