2007 Venezuelan referendum protests

They believed that without RCTV, the people would be left without an objective source of information, since all other private channels had made treaties with the government about what to broadcast.

We are on the streets making politics without traditional politicians, fighting for our nation, protecting the interests of our society.The broadcast was hugely helpful for the student movement, as they became much better known around the country because of the exposure they received in the media.

The movement experienced an expansion and was forced to re-organize, cutting down from 127 student representatives to 8, in order to better and more efficiently reach consensus at meetings.

One important aspect of leadership was activity on social media platforms like Twitter, because there were few ways for groups to keep in contact other than through large outlets that couldn't be controlled by the government.

Yon Goicoechea, Stalin González, and Ricardo Sánchez were well-known speakers and leaders who began publicizing the movement's activities on Twitter in 2009.

Stalin González was the president of the Federación de Centros Universitarios, or Federation of University Centers, in 2006, from which he organized campaigns directed at addressing human and civil rights and how these were being treated by the government.

Ricardo Sánchez succeeded him as president of the FCU in 2007 and 2008, and after much participation in the 2007 protests went on to become a substitute legislator who broke off from the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática opposition coalition.

In late June, RCTV managed to continue producing unofficial daily broadcasts by posting them on YouTube and running on a severely minimized staff, although the government refused to sway in their decision not to renew the channel's license.

[6][12] The student movement has played a large role in the Venezuelan political process, having gained a prominent position during the RCTV broadcast license expiration protests.