In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Venezuelan students take active role in politics

(TIME) University students in Venezuela have scheduled a march on Saturday. Feb. 7 in the capital of Caracas to protest against President Hugo Chávez's referendum on an indefinite term for re-election. A win would allow any candidate in Venezuela to run for president indefinitely. Students are upset about Chávez's intentions and along with opposition members they have scheduled a rally in front of the president's official building to protest. The students have been taking an active role in politics in Venezuela, especially since Chávez has been introducing new laws (sometimes by decree), making substantial changes to the constitution. Chávez has accused the students of representing U.S. interests. He frequently calls them puppets of U.S. imperialism who want nothing more than  to destabilize Venezuela. To deal with the students' protest on Saturday, the president has ordered the Venezuelan police to tear-gas them.

1.

Venezuela: student's protest because of RCTV closing

toastedbread.wordpress.com
This blog post contains pictures of days of protests against the Venezuelan government after it decided to close the RCTV radio station. Students were present at the rally where the police used force against them. There are also a couple of video clips in which, although they are in Spanish, one can see the rage among opposition leaders and students who have been taking an active role in Venezuelan politics. Chavez decided not to renew the licence of the radio station that was known to be critical of the government, a decision many saw a threat to freedom of the press. Chavez accused the radio station of conspiring with the CIA in the military coup attempt in 2002 to overthrow him. The radio station denied the allegations and thousand of students from the three major universities marched the streets of Caracas to protest

2.

Tension Grips Venezuelan Student Groups After Prominent Leader Is Murdered

Chronicle of Higher Education
This website includes an article about the death of a leader within the student association that, like many others, opposes Chavez's policies. It gives an insight about how students who oppose the president's view are in danger. The fact that the blogger is writing from South America helps because sometimes readers don't get a full understanding of events because the reporters are not in the places where events take place.

3.

Who pays the opposition students in Venezuela?

Hands Off Venezuela
This is the website of a Venezuelan group "Takes hands off Venezuela" that was created after the military coup attempt in 2002. They are the other side of the spectrum. Mainstream media write about the students protesting against Chavez "authoritarian policies" but rarely do we get to hear that there are government support groups such as these. They raise controversial topics about student opposition leaders' financial funding. "Who pays the opposition students in Venezuela?" is an example of such accusations.

4.

Venezuela: Local reactions to the re-election reform

venezuelanalysis.com
This website's name tell us what they are all about. It covers topics about Venezuela, from economics, to politics to students' participation in politics. It contains recent news articles about the country, including one about the new referendum on indefinite re-election. Although this is a topic that's very much discussed in the media, it's good to look at small sites that are reporting on this issue. Max Ajl wrote an article for this site that's worth a look. The name of the article is Venezuela: Local Reactions to the Re-Election Reform. 

5.

Could Facebook spawn a Hugo Chavez uprising?

allfacebook.com
Who isn't using Facebook these days? AllFaceBook has an interesting posting about Chavez and the media. The article's name is Could Facebook Spawn a Hugo Chavez Uprising? It's a short one but it gives an insight to the PBS documentary about Chavez's control over the media. Some people have criticized the material, others have applauded it. The documentary is available in English and Spanish.