46 Republic, Hugo Chávez, and the Minister of Communication and Information, William Lara. The petitioners alleged that the Venezuelan government’s official explanation for not renewing RCTV’s license hides the true motives behind this decision. As evidence of this, they indicate that the National 189 190 Telecommunications Plan mentioned in Communication No. 0424 “was devised subsequently” and 191 that in any case there other frequencies were available for achieving the objectives of that plan. 149. The State for its part has indicated that the nonrenewal of the concession was not related to the editorial slant of the station. In effect, as mentioned, Communication No. 0424 of the Ministry of the 192 People's Power for Telecommunications and Information Technology represents the official explanation for the nonrenewal of the RCTV license. This resolution explains the decision of the Venezuelan government by making reference to the “National Telecommunications Plan" and the need to take possession of the portion of the spectrum assigned to RCTV in order to "allow for the democratization of the use of the broadcasting medium and the plurality of messages and content" through the creation of a 193 free-to-air public TV channel. The Commission must therefore analyze whether the explanation offered by the State can be corroborated by other pieces of evidence. 150. The Commission has expressed that a comprehensive policy on the subject of freedom of expression must incorporate measures that aim to foment diversity and pluralism in democratic debate. As a result, regulation of broadcasting can contemplate the allocation of the spectrum for a system of diverse media outlets that represent, on the whole, a diversity and plurality of ideas, opinions and cultures in a society. Public media outlets that are independent of the government are similarly useful for this purpose. In this sense, the Commission agrees with the State that the promotion of diversity and pluralism is a legitimate public interest which can justify decisions in the area of broadcasting. 194 In any case, the Commission considers that when the State adopts a decision regarding the allocation of a frequency, the decision should be based on a law that establishes quotas, procedures and sufficient reasons to support this action, in order to avoid discrimination and the creation of public monopolies. In 189 See Ministry of the People's Power for Science, Technology, and Intermediate Industries, National Telecommunications, Information Technology, and Postal Services Plan, PNTIySP in its Spanish acronym, 2007-2013, available at: http://www.mcti.gob.ve/Tices/PNTIySP/. 190 Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, p. 78. 191 Communication from the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, pp. 127-28 indicated that: It is necessary to keep in mind that the National telecommunications Commission (“CONATEL” in its Spanish acronym) declared that all the VHF frequencies that have been assigned initially to TVN Canal 5 and later to VALE TV were available, except for the frequency in the Caracas Metropolitan Area. Therefore, there are frequencies available in the VHF band, to say nothing of all the frequencies available in the UHF band. As far as the rest, the government also has a VHF free-to-air television station, VTV, as well as four free-to-air UHF television channels, Vive TV, TELESUR, ANTV and CMT. 192 Annex 25, MPPTI, Communication No. 0424 of March 28, 2007, Communication of the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Annex 28. 193 Annex **, MPPTI, Communication No. 0424 of March 28, 2007, p. 11, Communication of the petitioners received on February 18, 2010, Annex 28. The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, available at http://www.tsj.gov.ve/legislacion/constitucion1999.htm, establishes the following in Article 108: Social, public, and private media outlets shall contribute to citizen education. The State will guarantee public radio and television services, as well as library and information technology networks, in order to allow universal access to information. Education centers must incorporate the knowledge and application of new technologies and innovation, according to the requirements established by law. 194 See, IACHR, Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, A Hemispheric Agenda for the Defense of Freedom of Expression. OEA/Ser.L/v/II/CIDH/RELE/INF.4/09. February 25, 2009, paras. 99-109. Available at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/docs/publications/Hemispheric%20%20Agenda%20Eng%20FINAL%20portada.pdf; IACHR, Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, The Inter-American Legal Framework regarding the Right to Freedom of Expression. OEA/Ser.L/V/II CIDH/RELE/INF. 2/09. December 30, 2009, paras. 224-238. Available at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/docs/publications/INTERAMERICAN%20LEGAL%20FRAMEWORK%20OF%20THE%20RIGHT%20TO%20FREEDOM%20OF%20EXPRESSION%20FINA L%20PORTADA.pdf; IACHR, Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Expression Standards for Free and Inclusive Broadcasting. OEA/Ser.L/V/II CIDH/RELE/INF. 3/09. December 30, 3009, para. 53. Available at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/docs/publications/Broadcasting%20and%20freedom%20of%20expresion%20FINAL%20PO RTADA.pdf.