El Nacional building |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Miguel Henrique Otero |
| Publisher | C.A. Editorial El Nacional |
| Founded | 1943 |
| Headquarters | Caracas Venezuela |
| Official website | el-nacional.com |
El Nacional is a Venezuelan publishing company under the name C.A. Editorial El Nacional, most widely known for its El Nacional newspaper. It, along with Últimas Noticias and El Universal, are the most widely read and circulated daily national newspapers in the country, and it has an average of more than 80,000 papers distributed daily. It has traditionally had a center-left ideology, but has recently moved to the center although the paper had formerly supported the candidacy of Hugo Chavez in 1998. The first Minister of Information for the Chavez administration was Miguel Henrique Otero's former wife Carmen Ramia.
El Nacional was founded in August 1943 in Caracas by Miguel Otero Vizcarrondo and is directed by Chief Editorial Officer Miguel Henrique Otero, grandson of the founder, and by Chief Executive Officer Manuel Sucre. The newspaper's first director was poet Antonio Arráiz (1903–1962). In the newspaper have contributed many of the most recognized Venezuelan writers. Arturo Úslar Pietri, one of the most important intellectuals of the country and its director, wrote for more than fifty years in an opinion column in the newspaper. Former editors include José Ramón Medina.
Historically, the newspaper received criticism by the governments under the AD and COPEI parties for it had tended to support the political beliefs of the moderate left. At the end of the 20th century it changed from a family-managed company to a communications corporation, which has influenced its political stance.
There is also a digital edition of El Nacional to which users can subscribe for an annual fee; it was published for the first time in 1996.
Under the leadership of Manuel Sucre, who joined the company in the year 2000 after serving as CFO for the food-conglomerate Mavesa, El Nacional, along with other daily newspapers of the region, El Tiempo of Colombia, El Mercurio of Chile and La Nación of Argentina, created the Daily Group of America (GDA).
In late 2007 editor and proprietor Miguel Henrique Otero founded the Movimiento 2D opposition movement, which supported the opposition electoral coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática in the September 2010 parliamentary election.