Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo condemn dismissal of Victor Hugo Morales from Continental Radio.
Last edited Mon Jan 11, 2016, 09:13 PM - Edit history (1)
The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo condemned the dismissal of Victor Hugo Morales from Continental Radio, where he hosted a top-rated morning current events talk show (La mañana) since 2007. In a press statement, the Grandmothers expressed their "strongest rejection of censorship against journalist Victor Hugo Morales, whose program on Continental Radio was cancelled this morning without notice."
Morales, 68, was already a well known sportscaster when he emigrated from Uruguay at the depths of its military dictatorship in 1981. He had been with Continental Radio since 1987, and had renewed his yearly contract last November. The Grandmothers made it clear they believe President Mauricio Macri, who's dismissed dozens of public radio and television presenters already and whose right-wing ideology Morales is opposed to, had a hand in his dismissal as well.
"The interests behind this decision were exposed by Victor Hugo himself in the few minutes of air time he was allowed, after much insistence, to say goodbye to his listeners. The owners of the station, of course, want a friendly relationship with the Government and for this are willing to align their broadcasts with Macri even at the cost of losing a wider audience."
The Grandmothers also questioned the Macri administration itself. "The government, in just one month, has implemented a brutal austerity against working people, has laid off thousands of public employees, and has repressed those who dared stand up. He has unconstitutionally appointed two judges in the Supreme Court, has rescinded the anti-monopoly Law on Audiovisual Communication Services by decree, has threatened policies of Memory, Truth, and Justice (regarding the Dirty War), and the list could go on. The republican masks with which they were presented by the media for the elections have now fallen, and we are seeing their real faces."
"The neoliberal experiment of the 1990s in Argentina ended tragically in 2001, with fire and violence, with killings, famine, millions of unemployed and a destroyed country which cost a lot of effort put back on its feet. We must not forget or repeat history," they emphasized.
"The public has a right to hear all voices, not just the ones that the government and corporations want. The commitment and courage of so many years by Victor Hugo Morales are widely recognized in particular by colleagues who've had the opportunity to work with him, which makes it even more laudable. And for us, in addition to an extraordinary communicator, he is a friend to whom we give our embrace and our solidarity at this difficult time."
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.infonews.com/nota/275294/abuelas-repudio-el-despido-de-victor-hugo&prev=search
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From Victor Hugo Morales' parting broadcast (for now):
"Macri is but a mask for (Clarín Group CEO) Magnetto, and they have taken charge of the country. If you (as a broadcaster) don't allow yourself to be disciplined, you're out of work. Radio broadcasters are largely dependent on state subsidies and advertising, and I got kicked out because this company is no exception.
They know they can't survive without this money, and that they can't cross Macri because they also know we're in for 4 years of a moral trap. I'm certainly not the only one this is happening to because they know they can't compete with our arguments; but they can't keep lying about what they're doing as long as we're there to show them up for it."
