User:Ndpj/Censorship in Bolivia

This is an annotated bibliography for a class report to write a wikipedia article on censorship in Bolivia.

“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.

Ndpj (talk) 18:04, 26 October 2016 (UTC)