Making Peace Visible1 Apr 2025

Journalism under authoritarianism: An indie reporter persists in Venezuela

Venezuela is a tough place to be a journalist. Our guest this episode, Tony Frangie Mawad wrote last year about the possibility of an opposition victory that would upend the regime of President Nicolás Maduro in the country's July elections. But even though the opposition candidate won the vote, Maduro held on to power, and this year has cracked down further on his opponents and an already-weakened media.

Frangie Mawad is an independent journalist and political analyst, based in Caracas, Venezuela. He writes the Substack Venezuela Weekly, where he keeps a close eye on developments both at home, and in the Venezuelan diaspora. He’s written for international news outlets including Bloomberg, The Economist, and Americas Quarterly, and was an editor for the Caracas Chronicles.

Making Peace Visible producer Andrea Muraskin spoke with Tony about what it’s like to work in an authoritarian context, where journalists are often censored and threatened, and sometimes arrested. As you’ll hear, it helps to have a sense of humor, and a long view of history.

This interview was recorded on March 24. Things may have shifted in Venezuela by the time you hear it.

LEARN MORE

tonyfrangie.com

Venezuela Weekly (English edition)

El Chiguire Bipolar - "The Bipolar Capybara" Venezuelan satire website

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Our associate producer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org

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