Bolivia’s president and state-run TV skip presidential election debate

Bolivia

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Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

10 October 2014

1 minute read

Rather than operate as a public service channel, critics told the Committee to Protect Journalists, Bolivia TV has morphed into a highly partisan propaganda tool for Morales's left-wing government.

The following is a CPJ Blog post by John Otis, CPJ Andes Correspondent:

President Evo Morales wasn’t the only no show at Bolivia’s lone presidential debate in the run-up to this Sunday’s election. State-run Bolivia TV, which has provided live coverage of every presidential debate since the late 1980s, also ignored the September 28 candidate forum.

Rather than operate as a public service channel, critics told the Committee to Protect Journalists, Bolivia TV has morphed into a highly partisan propaganda tool for Morales’s left-wing government. They claim that because the president skipped the debate, Bolivia TV opted to broadcast a soccer match.

Read the full story on CPJ’s site.

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