Nueva York, 17 de octubre del 2003–El Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ, por sus siglas en inglés) está sumamente alarmado por los ataques y amenazas contra medios de prensa y periodistas esta semana durante las masivas protestas antigubernamentales que amenazan con derrocar al gobierno boliviano. El miércoles 15 de octubre, atacantes no…
Nova York, 17 de outubro de 2003 O Comitê para Proteção dos Jornalistas (CPJ), está extremamente preocupado com os ataques e ameaças contra meios de comunicação e jornalistas esta semana, durante os maciços protestos antigovernamentais que ameaçam derrubar o governo boliviano. Na quarta-feira, 15 de outubro, agressores não identificados explodiram os equipamentos de transmissão…
New York, October 17, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed that several media outlets and journalists have been attacked or threatened this week during month-long antigovernment protests that threaten to topple the Bolivian government. On Wednesday, October 15, unidentified attackers blew up the transmission equipment at TV station Canal 13 and Catholic…
Economic and political turmoil throughout Latin America in 2002 had profound implications for the region’s press. Sharp decreases in advertising revenue bankrupted many media outlets, while the failure to consolidate democratic reforms left the media vulnerable to legal and physical assault. Five journalists were killed in Latin America in 2002 for their work.
Millionaire mining executive Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was sworn in as president on August 6 and immediately announced emergency actions aimed at lifting South America’s poorest nation out of an economic slump. But despite a four-year recession and widespread protests during 2002, the Bolivian press was able to cover the news with no major obstacles.
The U.S. government took aggressive measures in 2002 to shield some of its activities from press scrutiny. These steps not only reduced access for U.S. reporters but had a global ripple effect, with autocratic leaders citing U.S. government actions to justify repressive policies.
New York, February 14, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the violent attacks against Bolivian journalists that occurred while they were covering two days of deadly street protests in the capital, La Paz. The violence erupted when a crowd of civilians, angry over an attempt by President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada to introduce a…
On August 6, Former military dictator Hugo Banzer, who was suffering from advanced cancer, resigned his post as president and handed over power to Vice President Jorge Quiroga Ramírez, who will head the government for the remainder of the five-year presidential term, which ends in August 2002. Despite widespread social and political unrest, the Bolivian…
ALTHOUGH THE BOLIVIAN PRESS IS PLURALISTIC and freedom of the press is generally respected, structural barriers as well as a tense political situation continued to impede independent reporting. In April, President Hugo Banzer imposed a state of emergency that lasted for nearly two weeks after violent protests against an increase in water rates broke out…