Chavez wants to regulate the Internet

President Hugo Chavez wants to regulate the Internet after Noticiero Digital a popular news website, posted information about some killings that happened in Venezuela. According to Chavez this information was false and therefore wants to regulate the flow of information on the Internet. "The Internet can't be something free where anything can be done and said. No, every country has to impose its rules and regulations," Chavez said in a televised speech on Saturday.
Noticiero Digital responded Sunday, posting a statement that Chavez's comments are "a serious threat against freedom of expression, threats that are becoming increasingly frequent in Venezuela, affecting radio stations, the press and now — Internet."
Chavez is also very critical of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, he believes that many people use these social networks to slander many public officials.

Chavez rejects two cable channels

The Venezuelan government rejected two cable channels on March 5, 2010. According to the telecommunication agency, the channel RCTV Internacional failed to meet a deadline for registering the channel. The other channel RCTV Mundo did not meet some of the programming regulations and consequently they were rejected.
Marciel Granier president of RCTV, accused the agency of rejecting the channels under Chavez's orders. Granier believes that Chavez "does not want them to exist" because their channels express criticism about Chavez government according to the LA Times

Power failure in Venezuela

During the last weeks Venezuela has been experimenting various electricity power failures according to the LA Times. On Thursday, president Chavez address' was interrupted due to a power failure. Chavez argues that the causes of the power failure are due to low levels of water at the Guri Dam. Others, however, blame Chavez and his lack of investment in electricity production.

Globalization in Venezuela

Globalization is a world know phenomenom, however globalization has its pros and cons. In developing countries, globalization may not necesarly be a positive factor. For example in Venezuela globalization takes more time to develop due to the type of goverment Venezuela has. Therefore, the goverment regulates many of the aspects that are part of globalization, such as the media. In Venezuela there are approximately, 201 AM radio stations and at least 25 FM stations in Caracas. Venezuela has 66 broadcasts stations and 7.167 million internet users according to the CIA.

Cultural Imperialism in Venezuela

Although, Venezuela does not have democratic government, I think that they are still vulnerable to Cultural Imperialism. Even though, some of their media is regulated by the president Hugo Chavez, they can still get and idea of what is going on around the world and see the different types of trends other countries are coming up with. Just like in other parts of the world, a McDonalds in Venezuela had to be shut down for 48 hours because the goverment thought that there were some irregularities with the financial aspect of the restaurants according to msnbc.

Cultural Imperialism in any part of the world can have its pros and cons. It can be positive in a way that allows people to be exposed to different cultures as well as different mentalities. On the other hand, however, it can harm the culture's customs and languages.