Bolivia Referendum Under
Media Attack, Minister
Bolivian Interior
Minister Alfredo Rada
denounced on Sunday that
oligarchic media have
launched an offensive
against the recall
referendum, scheduled
for August 10.
In remarks to Prensa
Latina, Rada explained
that dozens of papers,
radio and TV stations
are plotting against the
referendum, a democratic
act for the people to
decide by vote whether
current authorities
remain in their posts.
This policy, which is
not new, is doomed, he
stressed.
I want to make it clear
that it is not the
workers of these media,
but their owners with
business interests who
are leading all these
destabilizing plans, he
noted.
Rada added that ANP (the
National Press
Association) requested
the suspension of the
referendum, which
demonstrates its
alliance with the right
wing and opposition
prefects, including
Manfred Reyes, from
Cochabamba.
He also announced that
in the next fed weeks,
the so called big press
will start publishing
dubious surveys to try
distorting leadership
achieved by President
Evo Morales in little
over two years in power.
From a simple review of
the last period, we can
see that the media have
taken a political stand
to try to undermine the
government, said the
minister.
Rada anticipated that
after the referendum of
August, opposition media
might challenge results
of the voting and their
reading by the people,
and "we cannot rule out
a turning to violence by
civic committees in
order to impede the
referendum through
extremist groups like
Union Juvenil Crucenista
of eastern Santa Cruz
department.
"In this case, we will
preserve public order
and peace with due
rigor, as this is a
legal, constitutional
procedure, ratified by
Congress and enacted as
law by the head of State
in May," warned Rada.
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