{"id":6802,"date":"2019-04-15T23:12:24","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T03:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6802"},"modified":"2019-04-15T23:12:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T03:12:24","slug":"venezuelas-crisis-is-a-tragedy-but-comedy-gold-for-satire-cartoons-and-meme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6802","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s Crisis Is a Tragedy – but Comedy Gold for Satire, Cartoons and Meme"},"content":{"rendered":"
Laugh so you don\u2019t cry\u2019: Venezuelan students crack up as they stand near a damaged mural of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 7, 2019. AP Photo\/Rodrigo Abd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thirty-nine journalists have been detained<\/a> in Venezuela this year, far more than in any other Latin American country<\/a>, according to the Caracas-based Institute for Press and Society.<\/p>\n

Their arrests are part of the government\u2019s crackdown on journalists who report on the country\u2019s escalating instability<\/a> as President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro fights to retain power against the opposition\u2019s internationally backed effort to oust him.<\/p>\n

Local reporters have seen early morning raids of their homes<\/a>, arrests, rushed and legally questionable trials for charges of \u201cinciting violence<\/a>. They\u2019ve been given verdicts ranging from self-censorship<\/a> to jail time<\/a>. Several foreign reporters \u2013 including Univision TV anchor and U.S. citizen Jorge Ramos \u2013 have been deported<\/a> from Venezuela.<\/p>\n

In this repressive environment, journalists are finding ways to avoid censorship<\/a> and still cover the country\u2019s crisis.<\/p>\n

Digital news sites and social media platforms, in particular, have become key platforms for informing the public. Using humorous memes<\/a> and political satire<\/a>, they publicize government abuses, protest daily humiliations like water shortages and blackouts and resist Maduro\u2019s autocratic regime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Laugh so you don\u2019t cry<\/strong><\/p>\n

Government pressure on the Venezuelan media dates back to the late President Hugo Ch\u00e1vez<\/a>, who took office in 1999. Over three administrations, Ch\u00e1vez used his power and immense popularity to chip away at the separation of powers<\/a> and undermine press freedom.<\/p>\n

Maduro has continued this tradition since succeeding Ch\u00e1vez<\/a>, his political mentor, in 2013. He has also overseen Venezuela\u2019s slide into humanitarian crisis, economic collapse<\/a> and political chaos<\/a>. To quash protests, his government has turned increasingly authoritarian<\/a>, violently repressing dissent and silencing journalists.<\/p>\n

Under such circumstances, Venezuela\u2019s turn toward satirical news<\/a> recalls an old saying that\u2019s grown popular in these difficult days: “Me r\u00edo para no llorar\u201d \u2013 laugh so you don\u2019t cry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Several power outages in Venezuela have disabled electric water pumps, forcing people to fill up buckets of river water.<\/span>
\nAP Photo\/Fernando Llano<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A satirical website called \u201cEl chig\u00fcire bipolar\u201d \u2013 the bipolar capybara, a name that references a giant South American rodent \u2013 recently won an international prize<\/a> for \u201ccreative dissidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its animated series, \u201cLa isla presidencial<\/a>,\u201d \u201cThe Presidential Island,\u201d which began in 2010, has Venezuela\u2019s leftist strongman leader \u2013 first Hugo Ch\u00e1vez<\/a>, now Nicol\u00e1s Maduro \u2013 stranded on a desert island with other presidents of Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia and with the king of Spain.<\/p>\n