OCTOBER 2004

Bolivia: Training Rural Communicators

Anastasia Andrzejewski, Program Associate for Research and Policy

Executive Summary

In late 2003, The Hunger Project and its partner ACLO launched a new 3-year strategy to greatly expand the number of young “popular reporters” - ACLO’s equivalent of our animators. This strategy proved to be tremendously fortuitous, as it coincided with civil unrest and a new possibility for the indigenous people to have greater political voice in Bolivia’s future.

Background on the current political situation

Recent tension and violence regarding the exportation of Bolivia’s vast natural gas resources resulted in the October 2003 resignation and flight of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. As a result, 2004 has also been met with tension, as well as expectation, regarding Bolivia’s future.

Bolivia’s gas reserves are principally in the south-eastern province of Tarija. While the Government contends that the profits from exporting this resource will bolster the Bolivian economy, and will be invested exclusively in health and education, opponents (including Bolivia’s large indigenous community) say the deal is a bad one for Bolivia and that Bolivia will see only relatively small profits.

Opponents argue that the exportation of natural gas is a continuation of centuries of exploitation of Bolivia's natural resources. They also believe that contracts that privatize natural resources benefit, above all, transnational companies, and provide very little benefit to most Bolivians.

During 2004, tensions continued to grow as the July referendum regarding the use of the country’s natural gas approached. Additionally, political parties questioned the validity of the government-permanent legislative power and the dictation of laws that do not satisfy the social demands of the people.

So far, this year has been filled with expectation to see if the government would fulfill its promises of change. All attention, including that of communities who were traditionally marginalized (i.e. the rural and indigenous), was on the country’s natural resources.

The whole debate on gas and natural resources gave rise to another issue on the national agenda, one that is increasingly gaining more attention-people’s participation and representation. For many years, some groups of people have not felt as though they were adequately represented. A striking example of this is in Tarija, the principal location of the gas reserves, where citizens did not feel as though their opinions regarding the use of these resources were acknowledged.

The issue of the use of the natural gas resources has inspired rural and indigenous Bolivians to enter the public arena to make known their stance and play a role in the construction of a new Bolivia.

Bolivia is in midst of change, as evidenced by the citizenry’s emerging consciousness of their rights, including their right to have voice in political and social issues that affect them.

The Hunger Project’s Strategy

ACLO recognizes the critical role that media and communications play in empowering people and in giving them voice, particularly indigenous and rural people. It is no surprise then that ACLO played a crucial role in the first half of 2004 in developing communication networks among farmers, indigenous and other rural people in three Bolivian provinces directly involved in the natural resources debate - Chuquisaca, Potosi and Tarija.

While the people living in these three provinces are directly impacted by the gas issue, they have traditionally been marginalized. ACLO is playing a critical role in empowering these indigenous and rural people and helping to mobilize them so that they are no longer marginalized and so that they can exercise their rights as citizens.

Via ACLO’s radio station and newspaper, En Marcha, rural and indigenous people’s voices are being heard and their actions recognized. ACLO is facilitating the expression of the people’s discontent and their call for the nationalization of gas, by creating a forum for people to publish their opinions and positions.

To support and motivate the participation of the citizenry in Bolivia’s current transformation, ACLO offered a view of the unfolding of the events by developing the capacity of popular reporters. ACLO is also collaborating with other social groups and the government to ensure that popular reporters are enabled. ACLO continues to demonstrate the important role radio and other media communication plays in national debates, particularly in the current one.

In light of the recent political and social tension, ACLO has had to modify and reorganize some of their efforts. In the end, these adjustments did affect project planning, but they did not significantly modify predicted goals. On the contrary, these adjustments ensured the incorporation of actions and raised issues to meet the expectations and demands of the rural population.

Specific actions taken during the first half of 2004 were:

Forming teams in Chuquisaca, Potosi and Tarija to help implement and develop the capacity of popular reporters.

Developing four educational modules to build the capacity of popular reporters.

Bringing in external teachers to support ten capacity building trainings in each of the three provinces.

Building three discussion modules so that popular reporters can share their experiences with one another.

Developing three timelines to guide in the implementation of popular reporters in each province.

Forging relationships with the federal departments in each province to help jumpstart economic initiatives.

Establishing contact and collaboration with three institutions - IFRA, CETHA and ERBOL - to learn about alternative trainings and to understand the criteria and requirements of other groups.

Developing, in coordination with IFRA (a respected national organization) additional basic educational radio programs.

Forming three alternative proposals that reflect the demands and interests of farmers and indigenous people, and presenting these proposals to the municipal governments.

Establishing agreements with the municipal governments about the process of the training the popular reporters.

Holding three annual meetings with the Oversight Committees.

Obtaining accreditation from ERBOL (the national network of educational radio stations).

Creating a system to broadcast ten daily messages from the popular reporters.

Holding three inter-institutional meetings to evaluate the activities of the reporters.

Mapping the locations of the reporters all three provinces.

Future

ACLO will continue the work initiated in the beginning of 2004. The capacity building and media outlets that ACLO provides, promises to continue to empower indigenous and rural people and give voice to those who in the past have been marginalized.