MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian journalists against censorship

“We ratify our unwavering commitment to the defense of citizens' rights and democracy in Bolivia,” the journalists' guild stressed

The National Association of Journalists of Bolivia (ANPB) and nine departmental journalist associations have rejected Congressional Bill No. 007/2024-2025, titled “Integrity and Public Ethics in Electoral Processes,” currently under review in the Bolivian Senate. Senator Silvia Salame's initiative is criticized for introducing covert censorship and control over media under the guise of ensuring electoral integrity.

It mandates weekly media reports to the Plurinational Electoral Body. It imposes vague criteria like “accuracy,” “fairness,” and “truthfulness” on journalistic content, which journalists warn could lead to arbitrary interpretations and violations of press freedom. The ANPB asserts that the bill undermines media independence, discriminates between traditional and digital media, and restricts candidates' access to debate platforms.

Journalists uphold the Bolivian Constitution, Printing Press Law, and National Code of Ethics as their regulatory framework and demand the removal of provisions threatening freedom of expression and the press, the groups insisted. “Under the pretext of establishing electoral integrity standards, it is intended to establish mechanisms of control and covert censorship over the media,” they argued.

”Any attempt to condition their exercise, such as the requirement of weekly reports to the Plurinational Electoral Body (OEP) or the imposition of guidelines on journalistic contents, constitutes an unacceptable abuse,“ the associations warned. They also claimed that the bill seeks to interfere in the legitimate informative dynamics under the pretexts of ”balance“ and ”pluralism“.

”To pretend that public officials control and qualify journalistic content constitutes a direct attack against the independence of the media and the informative work,“ warned the associations.

”It is unacceptable that under the pretext of establishing electoral integrity standards, mechanisms of control and covert censorship over the media and journalists are intended to be established,“ the guild underlined. ”We ratify our unwavering commitment to the defense of citizens' rights and democracy in Bolivia,” it went on.

Salame belongs to the opposition party Comunidad Ciudadana (CC).