TV portrayal of Chávez provokes anger in Venezuela

“Blocking the transmission of El Comandante reminds us of theocratic regimes that burnt and banned books,” says José Guerra, an opposition lawmaker. Ernesto Villegas, Venezuela’s communications minister, denies accusations of state censorship, although officials campaigned against the show with the slogan “here we don’t speak badly of Chávez”. Most of the criticism arose before the series had been shown; Chávez loyalists believe it was produced by Venezuelan émigrés who despise their former leader. Mr Maduro said this weekend he had found the money for a rival depiction of Chávez’s life. The former president’s brother, Adan, current culture minister, previously said a state-funded series called The True Chávez was in the works. “We have to counterattack,” he said. More…