Venezuela shut down an opposition television channel today and replaced it with one promoting President Hugo Chavez's self-proclaimed socialist revolution.
Mr Chavez has long sparred with opposition channels, which he calls "horsemen of the apocalypse" for backing a botched coup against him in 2002.
His opponents say the internationally condemned closure of RCTV will damage freedom of expression.
"This has exposed the abusive, arbitrary and autocratic nature of Mr Chavez's government, a government that fears free thought, that fears opinion and fears criticism," said Marcel Granier, chief of RCTV, the country's oldest broadcaster.
The closure of the channel exposed the country's sharp political divide - thousands of Mr Chavez supporters held street parties while opposition demonstrators faced cordons of police, chanting anti-government slogans.
In a tearful farewell program, RCTV staff packed a studio and prayed together. "Do not lose hope. We will see you soon," RCTV presenter Nelson Bustamante told viewers.
Twenty minutes after RCTV was pulled off air, the state channel started transmission with the national anthem conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, the 26-year-old Venezuelan who was appointed as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Programming started with a concert of traditional melodies, interspersed with government trailers.
After the concert, the channel planned to show a film on 19th-century commander Simon Bolivar, Mr Chavez's hero who freed much of South America from Spain.
Since becoming president in 1999, Mr Chavez has centralised power, politicising the judiciary, military and oil industry.
But before the closure of RCTV, political analysts had identified Venezuela's critical media as one of the main guards against him forging a Cuban-style system in the footsteps of his mentor, communist leader Fidel Castro.
The closure was condemned by the EU Parliament and US Senate but Mr Chavez's supporters justified the move by criticising the journalistic ethics of the channel.
RCTV ran movies and cartoons when the tide turned in Mr Chavez's favor in the 2002 coup, and refused to show huge crowds of the president's supporters rallying against the coup leaders.
Pollster Datanalisis found almost 70 per cent of Venezuelans opposed the shut-down, but most cited the loss of their favourite soap operas rather than concerns about limits on freedom of expression.
Among the Mr Chavez supporters swigging beer and dancing in the streets of central Caracas, some thought the president should go further and shut down the few remaining opposition networks, such as Globovision.
"They all participated in the coup and incited violence," said shopkeeper Jose Quijada (58) wearing the hallmark red T-shirt of Chavez supporters.