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Introduction

Censorship in Bolivia can be traced back through years of conflict between Bolivia’s indigenous population and the wealthier population of European descent. Until Bolivia democratized in 1982, the media was strictly controlled. When Evo Morales, the first indigenous person to become president, took office in 2006, the country’s tone changed towards greater respect for freedom of media, speech, information, and indigenous rights. While his administration has taken on measures to decrease censorship, they have been controversial in objectivity and impact.

Media

Film

Film and documentary makers in Bolivia and other Latin American countries struggle to make a living creating film, find a large enough audience for their movies, and make their movies impactful yet non-offensive. In Bolivia and Argentina filmmakers have been forced to flee the country as a result of film and censorship laws. In the extreme, documentary film makers in Bolivia have been arrested for defaming Morales in their films. 

Radio

Within Bolivia, powerful, wealthy families with connections to the country’s traditional political groups control the majority, around 80 percent, of radio stations although there are still a handful of stations run by local organizations, government, or other groups. Independent community stations are about four percent of the total number of radio stations. These stations are gaining popularity with Morales as an indigenous president and these stations are overall more popular within indigenous communities. They have a history of serving as a way for marginalized communities to express their identity and dislike of dictators. While legally people are free to talk and discuss any topic, awareness and acceptance of that is taking time to dissipate throughout communities.

Newspapers

Historically, newspapers in Bolivia have been the root and voice of political opposition with the goal of challenging the current and past political leadership. Yet there are many difficulties related to running a newspaper in Bolivia as challenging the political leadership does not lead to high levels of job security and a secure income. Journalists want better working conditions, job training, for media to be free an unrestrained by the government and financial considerations. There is little advertising for newspapers partly because there is readership in a country with low literacy levels. These newspapers have to be careful not to cross the line too much for fear of actions by the state. This environment leads to journalists self-censoring and the proliferation of state run media that is biased towards current political leaders and their parties. While there have been fewer attacks on journalists, there are still many cases that are waiting to work their way through the court system. Gradual improvements in internet access will lead to new environments and opportunities for newspapers and media in Bolivia.

Legal

Anti-Racism law

As a result of historically racist communication between Bolivians of European descent and indigenous Bolivians, Morales created a law that prevents against publishing racist media with the goal of protecting indigenous communities. Critics of the law say that racism is poorly defined allowing the government to shut down media outlets that publish what the government loosely defines as racist material. This vagueness means that the government is protecting one group of people while oppressing a different group, media outlets. The elite are afraid that this law will result in them losing power and control.

Social Media Monitoring

In the past couple of years, Morales has tweeted and talked about the possibility of censoring social media, but he was faced with strong opposition and proceeded to abandon the plan. The idea of this stemmed from tweets that Morales saw as bullying or threatening to his reputation. The opposition’s case was that there are many more possible opportunities for the government to utilize and embrace social media rather than censor it and be afraid of it. They were also afraid that the proposed social media regulation law would resemble the anti-racism bill’s vague and broad language which has forced people to self-censor out of fear that what they were writing would be labeled as racist.

Judicial Role

Over the years as Evo Morales has become prone to censorship and controlling what people say, he has begun to use economic, legal, and political means to take out independent media. While there is freedom of press in the constitution, Morales continues to act against his enemies. Consistently the court system has been overturning charges and accusations put forth by Morales.

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Annotated Bibliography

“Between Hashtags and Memes, Bolivian Leaders Push for Social Media Regulation.” 2016. Global Voices Advocacy. March 14. https://advox.globalvoices.org/2016/03/14/between-hashtags-and-memes-bolivian-leaders-push-for-social-media-regulation/.

This article describes the Bolivian president, Evo Morales’s plan to monitor, regulate, and censor social media. It was met with backlash from other government officials, the international community, and the media who fear something similar to the 2011 law meant to protect indigenous communities from racism but left journalists to self-censor based on vague definitions of racism.

“Bolivia | Country Report | Freedom of the Press | 2015.” 2016. Accessed October 19. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/bolivia.

Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press report places Bolivia in the middle of its metrics between free and totally locked. Compared to previous years, Bolivia has become a safer environment for journalists, with fewer attacks taking place and the courts protecting the constitutional freedom of speech by overturning cases against journalists for defamation or other reasons. While internet access is increasing, the majority of Bolivians access the news on the radio, with some reading the newspaper or watching TV.

Branford, Sue. 2014. “Digging into the Power System: The Growth of Indigenous Movements in Ecuador and Bolivia.” Index on Censorship 43 (4): 43–46. doi:10.1177/0306422014561650.

Branford discusses the role of indigenous groups in politics and access to information. Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, has created new elected offices for new officials to represent the interests of indigenous groups. With such a high proportion of indigenous communities, Morales has coined the term plurinational to describe Bolivia and its diverse population.

CNN, From Gloria Carrasco for. 2016. “Bolivia Weighs Regulating Social Media - CNN.com.” CNN. Accessed October 21. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/world/americas/bolivia-social-media/index.html.

Another article about proposed social media censoring. This article adds the points that rather than censor social media, that Morales and his government should be proactively using social media to share information as well as launch online literacy programs to prevent the online bullying and name calling that Morales hopes to prevent with this possible law.

Lupien, Pascal. 2013. “The Media in Venezuela and Bolivia Attacking the ‘Bad Left’ from Below.” Latin American Perspectives 40 No. 3 (190): 226–46. doi:10.1177/0094582X13476004.

Lupien shares the role that wealthy families and companies have in Bolivia’s media and entertainment businesses. The majority of the country’s television stations and newspapers are owned by wealthy families who align with the traditional, elite political groups, the opposite of Morale’s MAS party. While these large national stations are important, community radio stations and programs that have the ability to reach remote or more indigenous populations play an essential role in disseminating information.

“More than Half of Bolivian Journalists Have Suffered Censorship and Self-Censorship.” 2016. Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. Accessed October 20. https://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/00-15491-more-half-bolivian-journalists-have-suffered-censorship-and-self-censorship.

As a result of the policies of the past 20 years, this article shares the finding that of Bolivian journalists, more than half have self-censored or felt the effects of censorship. The precarious media situation in Bolivia means that journalists fear they might lose their jobs and they lack proper ethics and journalistic training to have the greatest impact.

O’Connor, Alan. 1990. “The Alternative Press in Bolivia and Ecuador: The Examples of Aquí and Punto de Vista.” The Howard Journal of Communications 2 (4): 349–56.

Bolivia has a long history of indigenous and grassroots political opposition. These outlets often publish a newspaper or something similar to voice their opinion but they lack consistent funding. They struggle with a relatively illiterate population, which creates challenges for the success of newspapers but there are many community radio stations.

Prengel, Kate. 2010. “Bolivia’s Proposed Law Against Racism Raises Censorship Questions.” Americas Quarterly. September 29. http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1840.

Bolivia’s antiracism law stemmed from a history of racism between the rich, European classes and the indigenous population who often did not have access to services to defend themselves. Morales, an indigenous man, experienced this first hand and wanted a way to stop it legally, resulting in the law that allows the government to shut down media outlets the publish racist material, but the law lacks a strong definition of what is racist or not leading many people to self-censor rather than risk being shut down or put in jail.

Ramos Martí, Juan, and Ángel Badillo Matos. 2013. “Public Policy and Community Radio in Bolivia.” Journal of Radio & Audio Media 20 (2): 251–72. doi:10.1080/19376529.2013.823969.

This article discusses the history and impact of community radio stations in Bolivia and the role they played during multiple dictators and the years of strong neoliberal policies. They explain how community radio stations have changed since the change in government ushered in by Morales.

Ross, Miriam. 2010. “Audiovisual Laws and Legal Intervention in South American Cinematic Culture.” International Journal of Cultural Policy 16 (4): 418–32. doi:10.1080/10286630903383246.

Bolivia is not alone in South America for punishing film makers and documentary makers. The state believes that the cinema should benefit the population and the state, resulting in threats against film makers. Overall, there is little demand for documentaries, making it hard to financially be able to produce them.

“What’s Behind the Bolivian Government’s Attack on NGOs?” 2016. NACLA. Accessed October 20. http://nacla.org/blog/2015/09/03/what’s-behind-bolivian-government’s-attack-ngos.

The Bolivian government is very involved in matters of the state, as well as what NGOs can work in Bolivia and for what reasons. Understandably, Bolivia is hesitant of outside organizations because of its extractivist history where many white corporations have taken a lot from Bolivia with little reward for the state or the people. This fear is spreading to NGOs with the argument that the government is already doing a lot of what these NGOs are doing.