Posted on 10/13/2007 3:27:54 PM PDT by lowbridge
A popular Spanish singer has been banned from performing in a Caracas stadium over remarks he made about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Higher Education Minister Luis Acuña accused Alejandro Sanz of criticizing Chavez three years ago while touring Venezuela.
The ban refers to a concert at a state-run stadium but the government says he can perform at any privately owned venue. Some 15.000 fans hoped to see Sanz at the stadium in the capital on November first.
Sanz, widely popular in Latin America, in 2004 accused Chavez of trying to stymie a nationwide campaign for a recall referendum against him and jokingly said if as many people demanded he quit singing, he would do so.
"If an artist comes to Venezuela to rail against Chavez, against the Bolivarian revolution movement, how do you think the people of this country would respond if he were to be allowed to use" the stadium, Acuña argued during a radio interview.
Chavez regularly holds political rallies at the site, which is owned by a university that the president created and is one of the country's largest stadiums, often hosting international artists' concerts.
The pop singer has sold 21 million albums and won more than a dozen Latin Grammys.
Chavez a self-described socialist revolutionary with strong electoral support from the poor majority of Venezuela this year forced the shutdown of the country’s longest established television station that collected massive criticism locally and overseas, with growing accusations towards his autocratic style or rule.
This year, after high-profile visitors gave speeches criticizing his government, he said foreigners who show a lack of respect for Venezuelans should be deported.
Acuña over the weekend said that from now on, the government will ensure concerts held at the state stadium do not promote "anti-educational values”.
Gee,...we should ban Chavez from the United States for what he said about President Bush.
(Because we're a free country, that's why)
They'd throw the commies out of power?
Wonder what Sean Penn, Danny Glover & Kevin Spacey have to say about their IDOL’s crushing of free speech?
This is the guy (Chavez) that the DU lionizes.
The DU doesn’t believe in freedom, either. It gets in the way of their getting what they want.
The smell of sulfur, comrade Hugo, is reeking upward from your privates.
Boy. Chavez is starting to sound like the Democrats on free speech. If he’s not too careful, he’ll turn into a mad raving socialist democrat like Reid, Pelosi and the rest of the DNC.
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