page_title: Diario El Fonógrafo
section_title: Opposition to Guzmán Blanco
hierarchical_section_title: Diario El Fonógrafo / Opposition to Guzmán Blanco
caption_attribution_description: Español: Ejemplar del diario "EL Fonógrafo" durante la Primera Guerra Mundial
context_page_description: Diario El Fonógrafo was one of the most prominent Venezuelan newspapers in the later 19th century and early 20th century. It was founded in 1879 by editor and journalist Eduardo López Rivas in Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela.
context_section_description: When López Rivas founded El Fonógrafo in Maracaibo, the president of Venezuela was General Antonio Guzmán Blanco. Guzmán Blanco was an autocratic ruler who never had a goodwill to the people of Zulia because of their love for freedom. U.S. consul in Maracaibo between 1878 and 1919, Eugene Plumacher, writes in his memoirs that Guzmán Blanco felt animosity toward the people of Zulia state because of their very independent spirit. According to Plumacher they were the most freedom-loving people of all Venezuelans.
  The problems of Zulia state were ignored by the government and the city of Maracaibo looked in deplorable state. El Fonógrafo became a strong opponent to Guzmán Blanco launching campaigns related to the most serious local and national problems. It reported constantly the government failure in social welfare matters, particularly those related to the state of Zulia and to   Maracaibo. Because of its independent information policies the newspaper was closed down by the government several times, but its moral prestige made it possible for El Fonógrafo to restart, over and over, and to survive 38 years of censorship and dictatorship.
  Plumacher writes about the precarious situation of freedom of expression in Venezuela by that time, particularly in the case of El Fonógrafo: The newspapers that dared to speak negatively about the president´s policy were simply closed down by the government, as was the case of El Fonógrafo. This newspaper was (and still is) one of the best-run newspapers in Venezuela, modest and refined in its words but firm and serious in matters related to public welfare. Plumacher also writes about one of the many occasions when government troops entered the offices of El Fonógrafo and confiscated everything. All the machinery of El Fonógrafo´s workshop was sent to the government office in Maracaibo, to edit a newspaper that supported president Antonio Guzmán Blanco.
caption: Front page of "El Fónógrafo" during Wprld War I
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