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The Directorate of Censorship was aware of 5 required, and the knowledge that he was doing 5
the secret motive behind the desire of more than everything possible for his letter — that is for
one to work in the bureau, but they were in no Mariana — assuaged his anxieties. He wasn’t
condition to be too strict and anyway — What for? even worried when, the first month, he was
They knew how difficult it would be for those assigned to Section K where the envelopes are
poor innocents to find the letter they were opened with painstaking care to see if they exploring other genres
looking for, and even if they did, what importance contain some explosive.
does a letter or two that slips [through] the barrier It’s true that on the third day a letter blew a
cracks [have] compared to the others that the new fellow-worker’s hand off and disfigured his face,
censor would shoot down. That’s how our Juan but the bureau chief claimed it had been mere /
was able to join the Censorship Bureau of the negligence on the victim’s part and Juan and the
Ministry of Communications. other employees could continue working as
The building, seen from outside, had a before, although with much less assurance. At Luisa Valenzuela
festive air because of the smoked glass that quitting time another fellow worker tried to
reflected the sky, an air that was in total contrast organize a strike to demand more pay for
to the austere atmosphere of its interior. And hazardous work, but Juan didn’t participate and
little by little Juan became accustomed to the after thinking it over a while he denounced him
climate of concentration which his new work to the authorities in order to be promoted.
David Horsey
This editorial cartoon makes a statement about the relationship between an authoritarian government
and large technology companies.
How would you describe that relationship, based on the image? How is this censorship similar
to or different from the censorship described in the story?
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