Bolivian President Evo Morales launched a state-run daily newspaper on Thursday, hoping to strike back against what he calls media bias three days before the country votes on his new constitution, Reuters reported. The paper, published with color photos on high-quality newsprint, is called Cambio, or "Change." Its slogan is "The truth will liberate us."
The first issue hit newsstands on the three-year anniversary of Morales taking office. The paper is meant to counter what he says is the anti-government slant of the local private media.
Some excerpts from the Reuters report: [Link]
The cover of Thursday's edition ran a large picture of Morales holding hands with children and the title "Bolivia heads toward renewal." One column was titled "Bolivia: the first post-capitalist state?" The paper costs 2 Bolivianos, or 28 cents, about half the price of competing papers.
Morales on Thursday accused some Bolivian media of unfairly attacking his administration and printing "lies upon lies." His leftist allies in the region, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, have also tangled with opposition media in their countries.
Morales says many of Bolivia's newspapers and broadcast networks strive to taint his image and he has scorned reporters for representing media owners who he says are aligned with his right-wing opponents. Opposition newspapers often run editorials accusing him of being an anti-Catholic Communist or a puppet of Venezuela's Chavez.
Last month, Morales threatened to stop giving news conferences for local journalists. In addition to the new daily paper, the Bolivian state already runs a news agency, a television station, a weekly journal and a network of radio stations.
