When Simón Bolívar, the Liberator and Father of the Nation, founded the Correo del Orinoco in June 1818, he clearly stated: “We are free and we write in a free country,” adding for posterity that the printing press was the artillery of thought. Bolívar was far ahead of his time, but he could not have imagined the birth of TeleSUR, although he had certainly already envisioned something similar in his strategic vision of Liberty and Sovereignty.
One of his finest sons, Hugo Chávez, the Eternal Commander, gave shape to what the Liberator had envisioned. And he didn't mind that TeleSUR was born almost prematurely. Precocious beings often prove more resilient (this writer is a prime example). TeleSUR appeared like a miracle, like Jesus on the raft while his apostles cried out in the face of a storm: "You of little faith!" Twenty-one years have passed, and that miracle endures, sustains itself, and withstands the onslaughts and storms that, for this committed team, are not fears but rather a driving force.
Nobody said it would be easy, not even Chávez, with his enviable long-term vision. And that's the beauty of journalism and conscience: that nothing should be easy so that it doesn't break, so that it doesn't succumb. We are also eternally celebrating the birthplace of Bolívar, later called "the Man of Difficulties," because for him, difficulties and even betrayal arose to be overcome.
It's been 243 years since its infinite and unquenchable light first shone. With it, we find light a month after the earthquake that called us to be more studious, more vigilant, and filled with boundless solidarity—the solidarity that made us look not in the mirror of the powerful, but of our neighbors; those who, with nothing but their hands and even a dog, shouldered the burden of rescue. A Liberating People? Undoubtedly: Bolívar, and TeleSUR today as well, confirm it. Many blessings. Much Aché.
