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What is it with the English media not talking about narcos in #Bolivia? /1
Any news about the current Bolivian crisis that doesn& #39;t mention cocalero narcos is incomplete. Why does this say the "bullets found are not a type issued to the military or police" quoting the attorney general, without mentioning the other major player? /2 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bolivia-politics/human-rights-violations-in-bolivia-merit-outside-probe-americas-commission-head-idUSKBN1Y02FS">https://www.reuters.com/article/u...
Any news about Sacaba in Bolivia that doesn& #39;t mention that many victims were shot from behind with non-military weapons as they approached the barricades is not pro-indigenous. Why doesn& #39;t this article ask who was carrying weapons in the crowds? /3 https://www.npr.org/2019/11/16/780118421/8-killed-in-bolivia-as-protesters-call-for-return-of-ousted-president-evo-morale">https://www.npr.org/2019/11/1...
If we aren& #39;t talking about the narcos& #39; repression of indigenous people, we aren& #39;t telling their story. Why doesn& #39;t this article draw the line between the insurrectionaries and the people they coerce? Why doesn& #39;t it ask why drug traffickers want Evo? /4 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/bolivias-protests-outcome/602644/">https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/arc...
Any news about the Senkata gas plant that doesn& #39;t mention the explosives is selling it short. Why does this not even question whether some protesters were connected with the cocalero narcos? /5 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/roadblocks-lifted-bolivia-leaders-attempt-quell-unrest-191125234912576.html">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019...
All of the articles above provide some of the story. None of them have even outlined the story of the cocalero narcos or draw a distinction with other indigenous protesters. Most don& #39;t even use the terms cocalero or narco. And these are the GOOD articles. They are balanced. /6
They show different perspectives, many I agree with. They& #39;re not the ultra-left-wing rags that support Evo at every turn. If the established, supposedly-unbiased news doesn& #39;t mention narcos, the fringe leftist outlets certainly don& #39;t. /7
Typical English news outlets are doing a good job documenting the military& #39;s crimes and the ambiguity surrounding them. The military is probably culpable for much of the bloodshed. They may be lying in some of the cases where they claim they didn& #39;t use bullets. /8
But the same media only passingly mentions the vital story of the cocalero narcos, the violent portion of Evo& #39;s remaining support. I don& #39;t know why. The media in Spanish is covering it better inside Bolivia... /9 https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lostiempos.com%2Factualidad%2Fpais%2F20191121%2Fmercenarios-similares-narcos-terroristas-lideran-conflictos">https://translate.google.com/translate...
...and outside of Bolivia. /10 https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lanacion.com.ar%2Fel-mundo%2Fel-chapare-zona-sigue-leal-evo-donde-nid2305362">https://translate.google.com/translate...
Lately, I have lowered my estimate of the media& #39;s ability to cover a story. The best of them ran the story of Evo& #39;s phone call directing his followers to starve out the cities and fight against the Áñez government. /11
The rest barely mention that the military isn& #39;t obviously to blame for all the death since Evo resigned. Every news story should call out the violent factions for who they are. Narcos who made #Bolivia into the third largest producer of cocaine and are fighting for control. /12
Many anti-transition protesters were not affiliated with cocalero narcos. They were out there protesting in good faith. Unfortunately they didn& #39;t have the leadership that the previous Pitita protesters had keeping the peace. #pititatwittera /13
But importantly the anti-transition protesters were joined by cocalero narcos who wanted to cause deadly conflict, even going so far as to kill other protesters, hoping to incite a response. This fact is common knowledge in Bolivia. /14
But what if Bolivians are wrong. What if it& #39;s untrue that cocalero narcos are behind much of the violence? In the case that Bolivians are wrong, why isn& #39;t the English media reporting that? Why aren& #39;t they at least tackling the cocalero narco story as false? /15
Or if the issue is too muddied to get a clear picture one way or the other, why won& #39;t they expound on their difficulties in finding the facts on this part of Bolivia& #39;s story that Bolivians think is important? /16
I& #39;m not saying which story I want to hear. You could be pro-narco because the US is to blame for creating black-markets. You could be anti-narco because narcos terrorize everyone. Neutral coverage is fine. Whatever the story, we should see it in the English-speaking media. /17
I have seen just one story that attempts to cover the narco state Evo Morales built in Bolivia. It& #39;s from the Wall Street Journal, and they put their own biases in it. Oh, and it& #39;s behind a paywall now. /18 https://www.wsj.com/articles/morales-made-bolivia-a-narco-state-11574018858">https://www.wsj.com/articles/...
