Summary
The control of media by the government or the lack of access to reliable informative sources for some people have made journalists find alternative ways to communicate, returning to analogical options. One of the ideas came from El Pitazo, a very popular news portal. The impossibility to use Internet in some rural or remote zones made journalists of the portal go to these places with a vehicle-mounted loudspeaker and share information; they use WhatsApp or SMS too as alternative channels of communication. Another alternative, nominated for the Gabriel García Márquez Journalism Award in the Innovation category, was El Bus TV, a group of journalists going into buses and reading news out loud behind a carton frame simulating a TV.
The reunions around sports, such as football (soccer) or baseball, are relevant as they have the capacity to congregate large amounts of people. The government also often uses sport figures, especially the national teams, for its political goals. Also the Catholic Church can be considered a political actor, as long as many of its leaders have rejected the ideas of the government, openly criticising the government and the lack of freedom of the country (Ramos, 2018). In a still very religious country (98 percent of Venezuelans self-define as Catholics), these voices are particularly strong, although inside of the religious community there are also bishops and priests that support the government (Calisa, 2018). The sermons during religious events have been sometimes used like political speeches for both sides.
The communication established in demonstrations, assemblies, political rallies or strikes is of great relevance. Many Venezuelans consider it a source of information (Rodríguez & Fernández, 2017) and in a country in which media are not trusted and telecommunications are deficient, personal communication gains relevance. Additionally, the strong polarisation of society makes it easier and more common to establish contact with people with similar ideas that attend the same political or protest events.
Finally, the Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (National System of Youths’ and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela), also known as El Sistema is a project founded in 1975 by José Antonio Abreu so that music and musical education would become a tool for development of young people and for serving as a way to escape poverty and criminality. Their concerts in the best halls of the world, their international awards and the orchestras and choir developed from it, have made El Sistema one of the most successful development tools in Venezuela and one of its most recognised experiences worldwide. The successful Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel started his musical career in El Sistema, but he has criticised the political use the government has made of it, leading to the cancellation of his tour with this orchestra by President Maduro (Santander & Moreno, 2017). Even though there is a certain use of this system as a propaganda tool, the intervention of the government has been smaller than in most spheres of society and communication, making this musical project one of the few reasons for pride and connection in Venezuela.