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Septiembre 10, 2005
Hard Hitting News
Every other day or so, Google News comes in handy. Type in “Bolivia” and see what comes up. It is definitely a mystery of how the formula operates that determines what news stories are generated. Surely no one is on hand to keep an eye on things, but some of the writings from la Prensa Latina are certainly mind-boggling. There’s no doubt that much of what the Prensa Latina writes constitutes as opinion, but it is trying to pass as “news”.
My example is the recent story “Turncoats Rejected in Bolivia”, in which the author takes the opinion of its favorite pal, Evo Morales, and turns it into fact. The story is in reference to the popular trend of party politicians switching allegiances by joining one of the new Citizen’s Groups, such as Tuto’s PODEMOS in order to escape the mark of being a politician. Even without stories like this, most Bolivians know what’s going on. This trend started in the Municipal Elections is even more important because it essentially marks the end of the parties: ADN, MIR and UCS.
Some troubling paragraphs (bold and underline – my emphasis):
"La Paz, Sep 7 (Prensa Latina) A general rejection against dozens of turncoat politicians recruited by two Bolivian presidential candidates is favoring progressive candidate Evo Morales."
Obviously this trend favors MAS, but I think progressive is definitely a subjective opinion. Perhaps the author means that Evo is getting progressively more ridiculous over the years? Or perhaps his disapproval ratings are getting progressively higher and higher as he continues to advocate for roadblocks and his party pushes for violence (in reference to some protestors threatening to storm Parliment and apply communal justice to politicians (i.e. beatings or lynching).
The displeasure caused by the unethical behavior of traditional parties, revealed by the media, was shared by businessmen and condemned by Morales, leader of Movement Towards Socialism (MAS).
Would unethical behavior also include preventing the poorest of the poor, who may not be members of unions or sindicatos, from earning a living because of roadblocks and protests?
The traitors are trying to explain their behavior; most of them convinced that they were not really militants of the parties they abandoned.
It’s one thing to attribute the label “traitor” or “turncoat” to something that Evo called them, but to start using them as their official label is another thing.
These are practices that are making Bolivian politics, and even society almost unbearable. One keeps assuming that if you don’t support Evo, then obviously you must be in bed with Tuto Quiroga, neoliberalism, Goni and all of the oppressive forces in the universe. This polarization is increasingly dangerous, as no middle ground seems to exist on the ballot.
Certainly Evo has just as many flaws as the recycled politicians that are attempting to hold onto their power as much as possible. Some, like Oscar Olivera, also considers Evo Morales as one of the political elite and he has been labeled a traitor himself by Jaime Solares. But this media, that gives other left-leaning Bolivians a bad name, seem to think Evo Morales walks on water.
Posted by eduardo at Septiembre 10, 2005 04:56 PM
Comments
Prensa Latina is a Cuban news service, so we cannot be surprised by its slant. The reason there are so many Prensa Latina stories on Google News (preferences=English) is because Prensa Latina publishes lots of stories about Bolivia in English. Is this surprising or dangerous? Probably not.
Mainstream sources show up sometimes too, and they usually slant against Evo.
I value stories from other countries, such as China, or from business-oriented sources (especially oil and gas), or from small-town newspapers commenting on local missionaries', PC volunteers', or tourists' experiences in Bolivia. Sometimes you have to laugh. NarcoNews is interesting. I enjoyed reading from a Israeli source how the Israelis got their tourists out during the recent "unpleasantness."
But sources get into Google News "Bolivia' by publishing stories about Bolivia in English. (I think it's much simpler than the regular Google non-news methods.)
And Prensa Latina gets swamped when something catches the attention of lots of US newspapers and other sources.
Posted by: John at Septiembre 12, 2005 10:33 AM
As more and more information is published about Bolivia, it is much more important to be able to be critical about what one is reading. I'd be in trouble if I only relied on la Prensa Latina or the Miami Herald for my only source of news about Bolivia.
I am just worried about those people who don't spend the insane amount of time reading about Bolivia that I and others do. If they read only what comes up on Google News, will they think Evo is flawless? Or maybe I am underestimating others?
Posted by: eduardo at Septiembre 14, 2005 11:43 AM