Thursday’s Sociedad Media Now daily newsletter on the stories impacting Venezuela and its citizens: one development focuses on media censorship & telecommunications, the other, affecting their pocketbooks.
Venezuela Restores Access to Blocked News Sites, But Most Restrictions Remain
CARACAS, VENEZUELA — Venezuela’s Conatel orders internet providers to restore access to at least 10 previously blocked news sites, including Efecto Cocuyo, El Pitazo, and Runrunes, following a request from independent media tied to the ongoing government-opposition dialogue.
The move drew sharp skepticism from digital rights advocate Andrés Azpúrua, who noted it confirms both Maduro and Rodríguez “could always have lifted the blocks whenever they wanted.”
Despite the restoration, most of Venezuela’s broader web-blocking regime reportedly remains in place.
As Inflation Tops 500%, Venezuela’s Opposition Pushes Bill to Kill the Bolívar for Good
CARACAS, VENEZUELA — An opposition proposal to formally eliminate Venezuela’s bolívar and adopt the U.S. dollar has gained renewed attention as inflation tops 500% annually, backed by opposition figure Antonio Ecarri and economist Steve Hanke.
Dollars already dominate daily transactions in Venezuela as the nation’s “de facto” currency — described as “yes in the street, no in the law” — but the country’s own National Academy of Economic Sciences warned this month that Venezuela lacks the institutional conditions to carry out formal dollarization successfully.
No government plan currently exists, leaving the proposal a matter of active debate rather than pending law.
