Journalists protest proposed law in Bolivia that would outlaw reporting on acts, opinions deemed racist

Journalists and media organizations in Bolivia are protesting a proposed law that would make it illegal for them to report opinions or acts considered racist, calling it a campaign to censor the news media under the government of Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales.

News media workers held demonstrations in 11 Bolivian cities on Friday against portions of the proposed Law Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination, which Morales was strongly backing. The law would allow the government to shut down media outlets and even jail journalists for printing or broadcasting racist material, reports Los Tiempos (link in Spanish).

The government says the measure is meant to help erase Bolivia's long history of oppression and racism toward indigenous groups. Morales, a former coca-leaf grower first elected in 2005 and reelected in 2009, is an Aymara Indian. During the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month, he defended the proposed law by recalling discrimination faced by his mother and racially charged attacks against him in opposition media sources, reported the Americas Quarterly blog.

"They said, 'That Indian president, we have to kill him,' " Morales told blogger Kate Prengel. "Would you tolerate that? ... If this is the way they talk about the president, how will they treat the ordinary campesino?"

But journalists and media groups worry that the law would be used as a tool of censorship. An early draft of the measure maintains that "media outlets that empower or publish racist or discriminatory ideas could be subject to fines and the suspension of their operating license," reports the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, citing news sources in Bolivia.

The law passed Bolivia's lower house and was currently being debated in the Senate, where lawmakers have invited journalists to discuss the measure. A vote is expected later this month.

-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City

Photo: Members of Bolivia's Chamber of Deputies vote in favor of the proposed anti-racism law. Credit: Los Tiempos

Colombia court rules against U.S. military agreement

A high court in Colombia has voided an accord with the United States that would allow an increased U.S. presence on seven Colombian military bases. The ruling on Tuesday by the Constitutional Court declared the agreement signed by outgoing President Alvaro Uribe unconstitutional because it bypassed approval of the Congress.

The agreement was signed in October and faced intense criticism from Colombia's more left-leaning neighbors, including Venezuela and Bolivia. President Juan Manuel Santos (pictured above right), who was inaugurated on Aug. 7, enjoys a wide political majority in Colombia's Congress and told reporters Wednesday that the ruling would have no effect on cooperation between the U.S. and its closest ally in Latin America.

It remains unclear whether Santos will seek ratification of the pact by lawmakers, says the website Colombia Reports.

"What's important is the cooperation is going to continue. The fight against drug runners, the fight against terrorism does not let up," Santos said, according to Reuters. "And this decision by the court is not going to affect what we've been receiving from the United States."

Colombia has received more than $7.3 billion in U.S. aid since former President Clinton signed the Plan Colombia pact in 2000. The funds have helped Colombia disrupt the FARC rebel group and narco-trafficking operations, primarily cocaine production. But there have also been increasing human rights claims against Colombia's military and 21,000 combat-related deaths since Uribe took office in 2002, according to a recent report by the Washington Office on Latin America.

The entire report is here. It cites human rights groups' estimates of an additional 14,000 deaths of non-combatants and a rise in so-called "parapolitics," or the elections of leaders with known or alleged ties to paramilitaries or drug traffickers.

Santos, a former defense minister, was elected in a vote for continuity after eight years of Uribe's get-tough approach against the FARC and other rebel groups. The new president is seeking to restore deeply strained ties with Venezuela while also maintaining Uribe's strategy for the country's security challenges, Times special correspondent Chris Kraul reports from Bogota, the Colombian capital.

Uribe's government frequently accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of harboring FARC rebels in his country's territory, a charge Venezuela's government has denied. Colombia remains the world's biggest supplier of cocaine, but Peru may soon overtake the distinction as coca leaf production rises in the neighboring Andean nation.

-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City

Photo: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez meets Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos days after Santos assumed office. Credit: Reuters via The Christian Science Monitor.

Evo Morales: 'Chicken causes baldness and homosexuality'

If you don't want to end up bald or gay, don't eat chicken, says Bolivian President Evo Morales. Speaking at an environmental conference this week in Cochabamba, Bolivia, (officially titled the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth) Morales told attendees in an inaugural address that chicken producers inject female hormones into the fowl, "and because of that, men who consume them have problems being men."

Thousands at the conference reportedly laughed -- perhaps nervously -- when Morales made the statements. He also said hormone-injected chicken causes young girls' breasts to grow prematurely, according to Noticias 24.

The Associated Press notes that most Western countries ban hormone injections in chicken, but Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, also went on to diagnose the practice as the cause of male baldness. "Baldness, which seems normal, is a sickness in Europe," he said. "Almost everyone is bald. And that's because of what they eat."

The Bolivian president pointed to his own shock of thick black hair as proof. No sign of baldness on his head, Morales said.

A gay-rights advocacy group in Spain sent a letter of protest in response to Morales' statements to Bolivia's embassy in Madrid, but otherwise, reaction on the international level has been somewhat muted.

The Cochabamba conference ended Thursday with accords calling for industrialized nations to "change the system of capitalism that is imposed upon us."

-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City

Photo: Bolivian President Evo Morales. Credit: EFE; Noticias 24

The International Narcotics Control Board criticizes several Latin American countries

A new report by the independent body monitoring United Nations drug control practices strongly criticized recent moves by several Latin American countries toward decriminalizing possession of some narcotics.

The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said in its annual report that Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina were sending "the wrong message" in legislative and judicial developments that aim to  decriminalize the possession of some drugs.

The report also "wishes to remind" Bolivia that under established international conventions, the traditional use of coca leaf in that country remains an "illicit" activity.

But the report, released Wednesday, drew strong criticism itself by nongovernmental agencies that are calling the INCB's criticism of Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina an overstepping of the organization's mandate. The report's words for the Latin American countries constitutes "unwarranted intrusions into these countries' sovereign decision-making," said the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Transnational Institute (TNI) in a joint statement.

The organizations say the INCB has no jurisdiction over policy changes within sovereign nations.

Mexico in 2009 decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Brazil replaced prison sentences with education and treatment for small-time drug offenders in 2006, and is moving toward rewriting drug laws this year that may include total decriminalization of narcotics possession. Last year, Argentina's Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the punishment of possession of marijuana for personal use.

“In the case of the Argentine Supreme Court ruling, it is arrogant interference by the INCB to question the judgment of the highest judicial authority of a sovereign State,” Martin Jelsma, TNI Drugs and Democracy Program Coordinator, said in a statement.

The INCB report also has strong words for the United States, where several states, including California, are moving toward legalizing or regularizing the use of marijuana. The U.N. body says it is "deeply concerned" that the regularizing of marijuana use for medical purposes "sends the wrong message to other countries."

The entire Americas section of the INCB 2009 report is available for review.

-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City

Latin America Digest: Today's one-line news briefs

Quito, Ecuador — Intelligence obtained by U.S. forces based in Ecuador helped Colombia’s military locate senior rebel commander Raul Reyes, who was killed in a cross-border raid by Colombian troops last year, a government commission said Thursday.

Mexico City -- Rafael Acosta, the peddler-turned-politico known as “Juanito” whose maneuverings have captivated Mexico City for months, quit as president of its most populous borough amid allegations that he filed a false birth certificate when he ran.

La Paz, Bolivia — The government announced it had seized a 48-square-mile ranch in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands from soybean magnate Branko Marinkovic, a political rival of newly reelected President Evo Morales, as part of its plan to restore land to the country's indigenous majority.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras — Honduras’ de facto government will allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who remained holed up in the Brazilian Embassy, to leave the country if he signs a letter dropping his demand to be reinstated, officials said.

-- Times staff and wire reports

Will President Evo Morales' reelection generate an even greater victory for Bolivia?

President Evo Morales reacted to his easy reelection Sunday by saying he was “obligated to accelerate the pace of change” in Bolivia.

The country’s first indigenous president embraces his roots and the plight of the poor. He nationalized some industries and developed programs subsidizing schoolchildren and elderly citizens. On Sunday, he won 63% of the vote.

A Los Angeles Times editorial today points to a few more factors that may help determine whether Morales’ win at the ballot will result in an even greater victory for Bolivia. To read the editorial, click here.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Bolivia: Unofficial returns show President Evo Morales easily winning reelection

President Evo Morales, with unofficial results showing him easily winning a second term, vowed today to bring more social change to Bolivia by increasing state control over the economy and generating more political power for indigenous citizens.

The 50-year-old Morales, who became the country’s first indigenous president in 2005, captured more than 60% of the votes cast Sunday, according to estimates, giving him an easy victory over his closest challenger, former state governor Manfred Reyes Villa, who received an estimated 27%. Official results were still pending Monday night.

The unofficial results also indicate that Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism party could win two-thirds of the seats in Congress.

Supporters praise Morales for programs such as those that provide subsidies for schoolchildren and the elderly.

Critics say he has discouraged foreign investment by increasing state control over businesses, including the energy industry.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Easy reelection likely today for Bolivian President Evo Morales

Bolivian President Evo Morales is expected to breeze to an election day victory today, giving him a second term as leader of the South American country and solidifying his influence over the country's future.

Morales, the country's first indigenous president, remains hugely popular with the poor and was expected to win more than 50% of the vote. His party, Movement Toward Socialism, sought to capture enough support to control Congress.

First elected in December 2005, Morales has increased state control of the country's economy by nationalizing such industries as energy and mining. His programs include subsidies for schoolchildren and elderly citizens.

Although the programs are largely credited with generating economic growth even during tough times, critics say they amount to payment for political support. His push for more state control of business hurts efforts to attract foreign investment and will cause problems for the country in the long term, critics say.

Critics also say the 50-year-old Morales, an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and an admirer of Cuba's former President Fidel Castro, is less interested in democracy than in accumulating power.

Candidates challenging Morales but falling far behind in pre-election polls include Manfred Reyes Villa, a former state governor and military officer, and businessman Samuel Doria Medina.

Morales' supporters appeared to be out in full force early today, according to media reports.

"We'll always back Evo Morales' government because he takes into account the poor," Ramiro Cano, a 40-year-old jeweler, told the Associated Press. "He's been a great help not just for me but for all families in need."

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Photo: President Evo Morales speaks to the press after voting in today's presidential election. Credit: Aizar Raldes / AFP/Getty Images

Latin America Digest: Today's one-line news briefs

Mexico City — NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, the U.S.-born son of migrant farmworkers, Tuesday lobbied Mexico to start a space agency and invest more money in science, technology and education.

Caracas, Venezuela — Opposition parties and Jewish community members criticized a visit by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, citing worries over his denial of the Holocaust, human rights violations and Iran’s nuclear program.

La Paz, Bolivia — Bolivian police said Indians in the remote Qaqachaca village held police at bay with dynamite blasts, allowing some to escape, and one officer was wounded in the leg by gunfire last week before authorities busted five cocaine labs.

Brasilia, Brazil — Rio de Janeiro’s posh beach neighborhoods lost power for hours in sweltering summer weather just two weeks after a massive blackout left more than 60 million people in the dark and raised questions about the nation's ability to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

— Times wire reports

Oliver Stone's new documentary heads 'South of the Border'

In his new documentary "South of the Border," Oliver Stone is shown warmly embracing Hugo Chávez, nibbling coca leaves with Evo Morales and gently teasing Cristina Elizabeth Fernández de Kirchner about how many pairs of shoes she owns, writes Reed Johnson.

These amiable, off-the-cuff snapshots of the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina, respectively, contrast with the way these left-leaning leaders often are depicted in U.S. political and mass-media circles. That's especially true of Chávez, the former military officer turned democratically elected socialist leader, who has become the ideological heir apparent to Fidel Castro and the bête noire of Bush administration foreign policy officials.

In setting out to make "South of the Border," which is scheduled to have its world premiere this week at the Venice Film Festival, Stone, a lightning-rod figure himself for the better part of three decades, says he wanted to supply a counterpoint to the prevailing U.S. image of Chávez, who's frequently represented in stateside op-ed pieces and political cartoons as a bellicose dictator-cum-comic opera figure.

Read on here.

See more posts here on film, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia and culture.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City