When students and faculty in the Communication, Culture & Technology Program invited Marta Colomina, a Venezuelan journalist and vocal opponent of the Venezuelan government, to speak at Georgetown, they were aware that she was a controversial figure in Venezuelan politics. However, they were not expecting the number of e-mails and letters they received protesting the invitation.
According to Diana Owen, a CCT professor, the department “received a flood of e-mails and phone calls stating [Colomina] was a Marxist and a key figure behind a movement to oust [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez and criticizing us for hosting her talk on campus.”
Davina Sashkin, the communications manager of the CCT program, said that CCT had received between 15 and 20 e-mails, mostly from individuals not associated with the University, including one from a rival journalist.
On Dec. 2, 2002, the opposition to Chavez called for a general strike, which they say will last until Chavez either resigns or agrees to a referendum to end his term, which lasts until 2007. The strike has particularly affected Venezuela’s oil industry and has caused a 25 percent devaluation of the currency. Colomina, who has an influential nightly radio show in Venezuela, has spoken against Chavez and supports all efforts to remove him from office.
Owen said that CCT responded by hiring extra security and reaffirming its commitment to hosting Colomina. They also the Office of Communications and the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies, to alert them that potentially controversial figure would be on campus.
Isabel Granier, a graduate student in the CCT who helped organize the event, stated that the organizers never considered uninviting Colomina. “She is a widely recognized journalist … I don’t think it is controversial at all.” Granier attributed the negative letters to people who remain uninformed about the intricacies of the situation in Venezuela. Colomina, a professor at the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Caracas, Venezuela, addressed the media’s new role in light of the political crisis in Venezuela. She is in the United States to meet with Francisco Noriega, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States, as well as representatives from six other nations to discuss the current political situation in Venezuela.
Davina Sashkin, the communications manager of the CCT program stated that both CCT and Georgetown as a whole are committed to providing a forum for free expression. Although CCT does not necessarily endorse Colomina’s views, it respects and supports her right to express them, she said.
According to Granier, the lecture went well, with approximately 150 people in attendance.
Sashkin said that although none of the attendees voiced opposition to Colomina, such opinions would have been welcomed, as they initiate a dialogue and enhance the debate.
