A Venezuelan politician's violent attack on a local television news personality has grabbed headlines in the South American country and is being watched around the globe. Iris Varela, a member of Venezuela's National Assembly who is said to be a close ally of President Hugo Chavez, stormed onto the set of a Tachira Regional Television morning show Tuesday and repeatedly slapped journalist Gustavo Azocar across the face.All the while, the lawmaker shouted, saying Azocar offended her and her family by writing about her personal life — specifically about the death of her infant son more than a decade ago — in a book published last July. The station's security personnel were reportedly held back by Varela's bodyguards. Varela also grabbed a microphone out of Azocar's hands and used it to strike him on the head. The incident occurred just as the television program was set to air and station employees turned the cameras on to capture the confrontation, with the resulting video eventually making its way to other television networks and onto internet sites around the globe.
The episode has sparked debate within Venezuela and among expatriates for a variety of reasons, most prominently because Azocar is known to be an outspoken critic of Chavez and his government. Earlier this month, the Venezuelan parliament approved a series of controversial constitutional reforms that expand the president's powers, including the ability to suspend the rights of the media during a state of emergency. A referendum on the reform plan is expected to take place in December.
Varela has said that politics had nothing to do with Tuesday's incident, which she claims was solely in response to the journalist's intrusion into her private life. In the meantime, Azocar has said that he will hold Varela, the governor of the city of Tachira Romel Blanco Lacruz, and the president responsible for any negative consequences that may befall him or his family following the incident.