Social stigmatization as a form of verbal attack by the government and members of the ruling party against media outlets, reporters, and camera operators is causing concern because this message leads to violence against journalists.
Labels such as "opposition" and "cartel of lies" are used by ruling-party officials and politicians in referring to independent journalists and media outlets, as a way of diverting attention from allegations of corruption at various levels of government, both central and local.
The National Press Association (ANP) called for the work of journalists to be respected. The ANP's Monitoring Unit said that reporters, photographers, and camera operators had been frequently assaulted while reporting on social demonstrations and protests in the first 10 months of the year. These assaults have a harmful effect on journalists from independent and government media.
In early August, a group of local residents and supporters of President Evo Morales prevented the work of journalists in the Isiboro Sécure National Park Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS), using acts of intimidation with psychological pressure and threats. The affected journalists from the newspapers El Deber, Los Tiempos, and Opinión and from television and radio stations in Cochabamba department were attempting to confirm that road projects were being carried out despite a law protecting the biodiversity-rich area.
President Morales signed a law on August 13 lifting the protections of the TIPNIS.
Journalist Beatriz Layme and photographer Álvaro Valero, both from Página Siete newspaper, survived after being chased by pro-government residents who support the construction of a highway across the TIPNIS. The two were harassed, threatened, and subjected to psychological pressure while in the area from August 13 to August 16.
Journalist Agustín Mamani was arrested on August 29 and his camera was seized by antiriot police while covering a demonstration by residents of a farming region who were demanding better roads. His equipment was not returned to him despite the efforts of the ANP. Mamani was held for 93 hours and was improperly accused of damaging property of the La Paz municipal government.
Journalist Adolfo Yavarí was attacked at his home in the city of Villa Montes, department of Tarija, on September 18. An employee from the local water company bit his finger off. The incident is likely in retaliation for the journalist's allegations of water pollution.
The ANP headed up a petition to have journalists and communications professionals excluded from the "professional malpractice" article of the proposed penal code. In a meeting called by the speakers of the legislative chambers on October 10, 2017, it was announced that the wording of the law would be changed so as not to include journalists.
An agreement was reached to ratify respect for the work of journalists in accordance with the Bolivian Constitution and the Press Act. It was agreed that an article would be drafted to protect the free expression of thought and to guarantee the circulation, issuance, and dissemination of print media outlets and the work of other audiovisual, electronic, or digital media outlets.
