Nicolas Maduro Criticizes ‘Anti-Values’ Of Telenovelas, Says Some May Be Infringing On 2004 Social Responsibility Law

In a speech last week, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro turned his sights on violence in popular telenovelas, in the latest of his criticisms of media which he says corrupts the morals of those who consume them. According to the Associated Press, Maduro pointed to “De todas maneras Rosa”, which centers on the crimes of an ex-beauty queen named Andreina Vallejo, as an example of shows which broadcast “anti-values” to young people in their portrayals of drugs, crime and violence. He added that he would order the minister of communication and the national telecommunications commission to review the content of the nation’s free-to-air and cable emissions to make sure they were within the limits of a 2004 law obliging broadcasters to present "socially responsible" material.

The call comes weeks after the murder of former Miss Venezuela Mónica Spear and her husband at the hands of robbers, which made headlines internationally. Animal Politico notes that the murder coincided roughly with end-of-the-year statistics on crime in Venezuela, which saw some 24,000 murders in 2013, or about 79 for every 100,000 residents (though government figures put the tally at closer to 16,000). In reaction to renewed public outcry over insecurity, Maduro convened governors from each of the country’s states and a host of mayors, calling for the building of “a humane model which protects society and pacifies it from within, which substitutes the anti-values of easy wealth and disrespect toward life”. Since then, he has sought to connect the violence with media like “Spiderman”.

“I think that we’ve got to have a sincere, frank, open debate about the unnatural, inhuman cultural-communication model which the media has,” he said in the speech. According to El Universal, he added, “We’re going to have a debate about the content of television broadcasts. We’re going to have a real debate about the content of media…We think that a culture with less criminality or without criminality isn’t too much to ask. I’m convening the youth so that they can be capable of demolishing violence and drugs.” He added that he and his supporters were “neither prudes nor false moralists.”