The political crisis is in full swing in Latin America, where Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, re-elected in a poll with murky details that he refuses to reveal, continues to block all opposition. While Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are urging him to make public the minutes of the presidential election in order to verify the validity of the result, the leader has just suspended the social network X for ten days.
A decision announced on Thursday, August 8, during a demonstration in his favor. The agency in charge of telecommunications has “decided to withdraw the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, for 10 days from circulation in Venezuela,” he said, stressing that this was done on his proposal. By suspending the social network, Nicolas Maduro intends to “confront the espionage of the technological empire”Elon Muskwho allegedly, in his words, “violated all the rules of the social network Twitter, which became X, and violated them by inciting hatred and fascism.” The Venezuelan head of state did not, however, specify the form in which he would take this “withdrawal from circulation.”
WhatsApp and social networks in the crosshairs
The president had announced Monday that it is withdrawing from WhatsApp while castigating social networks accused of attempting a “criminal cyberfascist coup” in the wake of his contested election. A crusade which, according to his detractors, masks a coup d’état, and the refusal of a defeat that would be proven by the minutes.
The unrest that followed the proclamation of the outgoing president’s victory has left 24 dead since July 28, according to an updated report made public Tuesday by human rights organizations, including the Americas division of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
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