Reviews

Del grito pionero... al silencio: Las radios sindicales mineras en la Bolivia de hoy (2006) by Karina M. Herrera Miller

(La Paz: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Instituto Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Sociales)

E-mail: ildis@fes-bol.org

At last some news of the Bolivian miners' radio stations. They are the most important example of locally organised and self-funded community radio in the world. These radio stations are not a project of media for development, not funded by a development agency, and not under government control. I edited and translated a collection of documents and research by Latin Americans about the radios under the title of Community Radio in Bolivia: The Miners' Radio Stations (Mellen, 2004). At that time myself, and Alfonso Gumucio Dagron searched for up-to-date information about these radio stations that are scattered in the mining towns of Bolivia. But from outside the country it was impossible to find out anything. As the political climate in Bolivia changes with the election of President Evo Morales many of us have wondered what will be the future of community radio in Bolivia. With this new book we have some insight.

It is worth reminding young activists that issues of global justice did not start with the protests against the World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle in November 1999. And the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu points out that the issue is not 'globalization' but the politics and economics of neo-liberal governments. These were enforced in Bolivia in the early 1980s: the privatisation of state enterprises, the reduction of public spending, the elimination of controls on imports and exports, wages set by the market, and guarantees for national and international corporations. The human costs of all this on the mining industry were devastating. Following a government Decree in 1985, about thirty thousand workers were 'relocated' from the mining towns to the cities and lowlands of Bolivia.

These mining towns had supported radio stations funded by union dues. In the 1960s and 1970s there were about twenty-five of these miners' radios. They were associated with a desire for education and the aspirations of the highly politicised miners. By 1986 the effect of neo-liberalism turned many of the mining camps into ghost towns. There were no longer sufficient people to support the radios. Only fourteen stations remained and of these only five were fully functioning. An international conference and some solidarity work had no effect. The miners were reeling from the effects of government policies. The priority was to protest and attempt to survive. Radio stations were often abandoned or left to fend for themselves.

Karina Herrera's book is a study of three radio stations today. Radio Nacional has historically been the largest miners' station, with the most powerful signal. Today it only broadcasts locally because of technical problems. It is paid for by about eight hundred unionised workers that remain in the mining town of Huanuni, about forty kilometers from the city of Oruro. Each worker contributes a half-day's salary (US$1.60) each month to the radio station. Huanuni has a long history of miners' struggles and government repression. The radio is closely identified with the struggles of the unionised miners. In 2003 the station accompanied a protest march of miners to the capital city of La Paz. The march was fired upon by the army, causing several deaths. There has been some financial investment in the mine in recent years, though most miners are now self-employed (members of so-called miners' co-operatives) rather than unionised workers. A group of co-operative miners actually invaded the radio station in July 2002, damaging equipment and threatening radio workers, to protest the arrest of some of their members found in the company mine. The co-operative workers have also started their own radio and television station, in direct competition with Radio Nacional. The TV station broadcasts only downloaded action movies. The local miners' union itself has a TV station (also paid for by union dues), which broadcasts television signals from Peru and news from La Paz. The radio does not broadcast in the evenings, when people now prefer to watch TV. The union radio station has had to adapt to the changing reality of the district, with new people, often, young people, moving into the area and seeking any way to survive. It has an open microphone policy that allows public access but the radio is sometimes expected to solve problems that no radio station could possibly resolve.

Some details provided by this book are like a shower of cold water. Herrera provides information on the salaries paid to radio workers, who often have degrees in communication or have years of practical experience in broadcasting. At Radio Nacional there were twenty-four radio personnel in the 1970s (including volunteers) and seventeen in 1986. Today there are ten.

Salaries of Personnel at Radio Nacional de Huanuni
NAME (years of service) POSITION US$ MONTHLY

Lineo Morales (15 years) Director 135
Mariaca Romero (9 years) Head of News 104
Terceros Mena (10 years) Announcer 103
Cruz Ramos Announcer 81
Salazar C. (19 years) Technician 96
Martinez Ancasi (8 years) Operator 106
Quilo M. (8 years) Operator 86
Alarcon (1 year) Announcer 81
Valasquez Secretary 76
Canedo Porter 71

SOURCE: Herrera (2006), p. 75.

These are indeed 'heroic salaries'. Moving on the next station, Radio 16 de Marzo is located at the Bolivar mine about seventy kilometers from Oruro. Because of an international investment deal signed in 1992 this mine has modern equipment. Unlike Huanuni there are no problems with self-employed miners' co-operatives, which hardly exist in this area. Supported by the three hundred unionised mine workers, Radio 16 de Marzo is quite small. But the aim is similar to that of Radio Nacional: to broadcast the ideas and thoughts of the mineworkers. The radio covers local affairs and national and international news is taken from the newspaper that arrives each afternoon on the bus from Oruro. With poor telephone service and less interest in television than in Huanuni, the radio plays an important role in the mining camp. There is also less competition from other radio stations. Radio 16 de Marzo broadcasts in Quechua to the campesinos in the surrounding area. Programming is often a simple magazine format, mixing music and talk. There is a constant turnover of staff, mainly because of the low salaries. As at Radio Nacional the transmitter is old and there is a constant worry that radio valves will need to be replaced at a cost of US$1,000 each.

The third radio station covered by this book is Radio Vanguardia in the historic mining town of Colquiri, located in the mountains at four thousand meters. This mine has also seen significant foreign investment since the year 2000 and employs four hundred and fifty people. However, the self-employed 'co-operative' mining sector employs six hundred workers in this area, in a relationship of objective conflict with unionised workers. As at Huanuni, the co-operative mining sector has established its own radio station. At Radio Vanguardia, there are five employees and the radio station is closely linked to the miners' union. Everyone knows the heroic role it played in resisting several military dictatorships. Local and international television signals are rebroadcast to the mining town.

As at the other stations, programming is simple and informal. Music plays an important role because of the high proportion of people under twenty-five in Colquiri. The station also broadcasts in Aymara and Quechua to campesinos in the surrounding area. The station is unique among the three for its programs dedicated to women's issues. The radio also gives space to a local evangelical church, popular in this mainly socialist community for its assistance to alcoholics. Programming in general is more innovative that at the two other stations.

The overall picture emerges. The miners' radios in Bolivia often have unresolved legal issues about licences. Their equipment is old and limits broadcasts to the local area. Stations live in fear of a transmitter valve burning out. The stations are mainly supported by monthly dues of about $1.50 per union member; this is paid by miners who often live in miserable conditions. The radio workers themselves are poorly paid. The stations have a computer or two, but access to the Internet is rare. Even telephones are scarce. Programming is simple and informal, typically a flexible magazine format of music and chat. News of the larger world is taken from newspapers, from television, and often rebroadcast from the Catholic station Radio Fides in La Paz. Some radios stick to traditional formats and broadcasting styles on the assumption that listeners want this continuity. Others are more innovative and attempt to attract younger listeners. The radio stations have to compete with television broadcasts of downloaded movies and foreign stations. In some areas the stations are caught in serious conflicts between unionised miners and self-employed miners in the so-called co-operative sector. These self-employed miners sometimes set up competing broadcast services but they seldom have the prestige of the trade-union radio stations. What are we to conclude from Karina Herrera's valuable update on these three radio stations? As always, I think that the miners' radios are both quite ordinary - the difficulties and limitations are familiar - and the most extraordinary example of democratic communication. They put most of our own efforts to shame.

Alan O'Connor, Trent University, Canada