I was in La Paz does little to present the book to coordinate with Karina Herrera-Miller: "Policies and legislation for local radio in Latin America", published by Plural Editores , which brings in 474 pages twenty texts of the most distinguished authors on the subject, and other documents.
The presentation was sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) , best known in Bolivia as ILDIS (Instituto Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Sociales). In addition to the opening words of the director of the FES, Kathrein Hoelscher, and the presentation of the book that made my colleague Karina Herrera-Miller, the event was attended by Erick Torrico Villanueva, Director of National Media Observatory (ONADEM) Vela and Andres Gomez, National Executive Director Radio Education in Bolivia (ERBOL) as speakers of the roundtable "Considerations for communication policy in Bolivia."
The book, which took two years to be published reflects the content of the papers presented and discussions held during the international seminar l " The local radio in Latin America: policies and legislation " with the same Karina Herrera-Miller, as well as Erick Torrico Villanueva, José Luis Aguirre and Cecilia Quiroga, organized in late 2008 with the aim of encouraging reflection and discussion on Latin American experiences.
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| Alfonso Gumucio, Karina Herrera, Edgar Davila, Kathrein Hoelscher, Erick Torres and Andrés Gómez |
They were joined by Bolivians Luis Ramiro Beltrán, Sandra Aliaga, Gastón Núñez, Carlos Arroyo, Andres Gomez, Carlos Soria Galvarro, Fernando Andrade, Guimer Zambrana, Ana Limachi, and a hundred representatives of local and community radios all over the country.
The book contains almost all the papers presented, now corrected and expanded. Self-excluded only the authors who did not respond to our call to send their texts, but we added a chapter on Carlos Camacho who could not attend the seminar.
Both the seminar, which I Referee timely a previous note , as the book, want to be a contribution to a discussion that seems to find many obstacles. Two years ago we launched into this adventure, we thought it would serve to stimulate debate on the need for legislation that would protect the local radio stations that serve their communities with content that promote issues of education, health, agriculture and development in general.
Our main objective was to promote the right to communicate with all people, not only freedom of expression to defend journalists and media owners information, self-appointed "intermediary" between citizens and political power.
Today, two years later, it seems that a thick glass separates aspirations they have much in common, since no one denies the need to strengthen human rights and in particular the right to communicate, but some think regulation is not the best way to do it.
Paradoxically, in the field who claim that "the best law is that there" are not only the owners of media, radio or television (who prefer to operate without accountability social), but the associations themselves, journalists, timid or caring for their jobs, defending employers' interests. This is de facto alliance other curious if we consider the countless studies and analysis show that commercial and private media, most do not contribute to education, culture or the development, but rather degrade their contents purely commercial vocation and his eagerness to profitability, the profession of journalists, and of course the imagination of the citizens who consume these products.
in the field who are better prepared to make proposals on policies and laws governing the field of communication and telecommunications, there are some important organizations such as UNITE and Network Foundation ERBOL (Radio Education in Bolivia), but struck by the timidity of the careers of university communication, and own Bolivian Association of Communication Researchers (ABOIC), the expectation remains no specific proposals and without jumping to the forefront of the discussion.
Within the state, which takes the initiatives to be taken by civil society, the contradictions are more acute, because the state officials strongly the Government of Evo Morales does not intend to propel an act of communication, a group of renowned specialists in the field develops proposals, more discreetly in the shadow of the Vice-Presidency.
So it is possible that the proposal for a government sector is very good, as that sheet is rejected by media owners, journalists' associations, and all opponents who do not need to know the details speak out against. In such an absurd degree of polarization we have, that any initiative from the state runs the risk of be a face against a cement wall, regardless of their content.
MAS government itself is responsible, as it promotes the disqualification of all opposition, not just right. The government vilifies those who were his allies on the left and all who would contribute to the process of change from a progressive perspective.
It would have been a process like that of Argentina, where civil society organizations undertook a hard work of reflection and discussion to reach consensus, then, the proposal Communication Services Act Audiovisual was debated and passed in parliament in that country, despite the furious attacks of certain groups of power that affected the economic and political interests had been able to strengthen the shadow of military dictatorships.
The book "Policies and legislation for local radio in Latin America" \u200b\u200bonly addresses the so-called "third sector", ie a part of which should cover a broad communications law, but it is a contribution and I would like to see soon other similar contributions relating to other sectors, not only in relation to public and private media, but with a comprehensive view of the right to communication.
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