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Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has demanded a 10-day ban of social network X in the country following a spat with its owner Elon Musk.
Maduro claimed the outspoken Tesla billionaire has broken the rules of the site formally known as Twitter by “inciting hatred” and creating political unrest in the South American nation.
The backdrop to the row is the disputed results of the recent presidential election on July 28th, when Maduro’s campaign claimed victory and a third successive term for the Chavismo socialist despite no consensus.
Opposition alliance candidate Edmundo Gonzalez claimed to have obtained records from more than 80% of the estimated 30,000 electronic polling machines used in the nationwide vote showing he is the winner. The electoral authorities are still to produce receipts of the voting tallies, but they have declared Maduro as the victor with 51% of the vote.
Maduro has called his 74-year-old opponent a puppet of the United States, as Washington DC joined Argentina and Chile in not recognizing the claimed victory of the incumbent leader. China and Russia have congratulated Maduro as he prepares to embark on a third term.
On Thursday night in Caracas, journalists realized posts were not loading on X, on two private phone services as well as the state-owned Movilnet.
“X out for 10 days! Elon Musk out!” Maduro said in an address on national television, relayed on X
¡Fuera X por #10Días de Venezuela! En nuestro país hay Constitución, Ley, Instituciones y Estado. 10 días para que presente sus recaudos. Qué se acaben los planes en redes para sembrar violencia, odio y de atacar a #Venezuela desde el exterior. El #PuebloVenezolano merece… pic.twitter.com/0EuMnQKtHH
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) August 9, 2024
“Shame on Dictator Maduro”
Following the election, the President and Musk became embroiled in a war of words, played out on the social media network.
Musk wrote “Shame on Dictator Maduro,” accusing the 61-year-old of committing “major election fraud.” In response, Maduro challenged the OpenAI co-founder, telling a stated broadcast, television: “Elon Musk, I’m ready. I’m not afraid of you. Let’s fight, wherever you want.”
The aftermath of the election and the declared victory has created a state of unrest, protests, and counter-action in Venezuela, with much of the discourse taking place online. The country’s Observatory for Social Conflict has reported at least 23 people killed during the protests.
