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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Not so fast: Despacito singers tell Nicolás Maduro to stop using remixed song | Not so fast: Despacito singers tell Nicolás Maduro to stop using remixed song |
| (6 months later) | |
| Venezuelan president’s attempt to co-opt the global hit for political purposes backfires with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee calling the use ‘illegal’ | |
| Reuters | |
| Tue 25 Jul 2017 01.43 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 19.36 GMT | |
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| Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s attempt to use Latin hit Despacito - which means “slowly” – to inject some cool into his controversial new congress has backfired quickly. | Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s attempt to use Latin hit Despacito - which means “slowly” – to inject some cool into his controversial new congress has backfired quickly. |
| Maduro’s unpopular leftist government on Sunday promoted a remixed version of Despacito to encourage Venezuelans to vote for the Constituent Assembly, which will have powers to rewrite the national charter and supersede other institutions. | Maduro’s unpopular leftist government on Sunday promoted a remixed version of Despacito to encourage Venezuelans to vote for the Constituent Assembly, which will have powers to rewrite the national charter and supersede other institutions. |
| “Our call to the Constituent Assembly only seeks to unite the country ... Despacito!” goes the Socialist Party-sanctioned remix of the catchy dance song, which was played during Maduro’s weekly televised show. | “Our call to the Constituent Assembly only seeks to unite the country ... Despacito!” goes the Socialist Party-sanctioned remix of the catchy dance song, which was played during Maduro’s weekly televised show. |
| “What do you think, eh? Is this video approved?” a grinning and clapping Maduro called out to the crowd, which roared back in approval. | “What do you think, eh? Is this video approved?” a grinning and clapping Maduro called out to the crowd, which roared back in approval. |
| But Puerto Rican singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee on Monday said they do not approve at all. | But Puerto Rican singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee on Monday said they do not approve at all. |
| “At no point was I asked, nor did I authorize, the use or the change in lyrics of Despacito for political ambitions, and much less in the middle of a deplorable situation that Venezuela, a country I love so much, is living,” Fonsi said in a message posted on Twitter. | “At no point was I asked, nor did I authorize, the use or the change in lyrics of Despacito for political ambitions, and much less in the middle of a deplorable situation that Venezuela, a country I love so much, is living,” Fonsi said in a message posted on Twitter. |
| Daddy Yankee, meanwhile, posted a picture of Maduro with a big red cross over it on Instagram. | Daddy Yankee, meanwhile, posted a picture of Maduro with a big red cross over it on Instagram. |
| “That you illegally appropriate a song (Despacito) does not compare with the crimes you commit and have committed in Venezuela. Your dictatorial regime is a joke, not only for my Venezuelan brothers, but for the entire world,” he said. | “That you illegally appropriate a song (Despacito) does not compare with the crimes you commit and have committed in Venezuela. Your dictatorial regime is a joke, not only for my Venezuelan brothers, but for the entire world,” he said. |
| “With this nefarious marketing plan, you only highlight your fascist ideal.” | “With this nefarious marketing plan, you only highlight your fascist ideal.” |
| Millions of Venezuelans have been staging months of protests against Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader narrowly elected to replace the late Hugo Chavez in 2013. | Millions of Venezuelans have been staging months of protests against Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader narrowly elected to replace the late Hugo Chavez in 2013. |
| Some 100 people have died in the unrest, which has further hammered an imploding economy that is running short of food and medicine. | Some 100 people have died in the unrest, which has further hammered an imploding economy that is running short of food and medicine. |
| Critics say Maduro is trying to cement a dictatorship by pushing forward with the Constituent Assembly this Sunday. He says it is the only way to bring peace back to the convulsed nation. | Critics say Maduro is trying to cement a dictatorship by pushing forward with the Constituent Assembly this Sunday. He says it is the only way to bring peace back to the convulsed nation. |
| Venezuela | |
| Americas | |
| Nicolás Maduro | |
| news | |
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