''El Universal'' is a major
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n newspaper, headquartered in
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
.
[Browning, Mark (2003),]
Venezuela
, ''World Press Encyclopedia'' ''El Universal'' is part of the
Latin American Newspaper Association The Latin American Newspaper Association (, PAL) is a press group representing media organizations in Latin America. Founded in 2008, it represents 16 newspapers in 11 countries, as well as magazines. '' El Universal'', 24 March 2009Periódicos Asoc ...
(Spanish, ''Periodicals Associates Latin-Americans''), an organization of leading newspapers in Latin America. Its main rival is ''
El Nacional.'' The newspaper does not disclose circulation figures.
[
]
History
''El Universal'' was founded in April 1909 in Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
by the Venezuelan poet Andrés Mata and his friend Andrés Vigas Andrés Jorge Vigas Syers (1848 - 11 September 1930) was a Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, co ...
, being the oldest of current Venezuelan newspapers.[
]
Political stance and editorial opinion
On the morning of 13 April 2002, when the removal of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
in what later came to be referred to as the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt
A failed coup d'état on 11 April 2002 saw the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, ousted from office for 47 hours before being restored to power. Chávez was aided in his return to power by popular support and mobilization against the coup b ...
appeared a success, the paper headlined ''¡Un Paso Adelante!'' (One Step Forward!).
The newspaper was described as pro-opposition by ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' in 2008, by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
numerous times between 2011 and 2014.
On 5 July 2014, it was announced that after 105 years of ownership, the Mata family had sold a controlling stake in the newspaper to a Spanish investment firm linked to the Venezuelan government, Politician S.L., a firm that "was created with the purpose of acquiring" ''El Universal''.