President Hugo Chavez’s decision not to renew the broadcast license of RCTV, one of this country's oldest television stations and a frequent critic of his government, has fueled a fierce debate over whether he is stifling dissent in Venezuela as he strengthens his control of the broadcasting industry.

Senior officials in Chavez’s government moved quickly to react to growing international and domestic criticism of the decision. Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based press freedom group, said the move, which Chavez announced in a speech before military officers last week, was a “serious attack on editorial pluralism.” The group asked Chavez’s government “to reconsider its stance and guarantee an independent system of concessions and renewals of licenses.”

Vice-president Jose Vicente Rangel said the decision was not political retaliation but a “right of the state for reasons that are justified.” Others officials, however, made it clear that the decision was a reaction to RCTV’s editorial policies, particularly in relation to a coup in April 2002 that briefly removed Chavez as president.

“RCTV’s determining role during the events of ’02 coup must be remembered,” Willian Lara, the communications minister, said at a news conference on Friday. “That irresponsible attitude hasn’t changed at RCTV.”

RCTV’s actions and other private broadcasters during the chaotic days of the coup are at the heart of their tension with Chavez’s government. Several broadcasters appeared to support the coup, substituting coverage of the coup’s collapse and Chavez’s return to power with reruns of American movies and Walt Disney cartoons.

Since then, Chavez has accused broadcasters of waging a “psychological war” against his administration, describing the country’s main channels, Globovision, Televen, Venevision and RCTV, as “horsemen of the apocalypse.” His re-election this month to a six-year term has not tempered his disdain for t he traditional news media elite, and for RCTV in particular.

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