Yesterday, on Wednesday, April 20, another community radio, Radio Esperanza: La Vos de lo Nuestro was raided by the public ministry and the Guatemalan national police, who seized all of the radio’s equipment. Radio Esperanza of La Esperanza, Quetzaltenango, member of the network of Asociación Mujb’ ab’l yol: Encuentro de Expresiones, served its community for 14 years, with educational and cultural programs.
The Central American Network of Indigenous Community Radios, which is made up of Indigenous community radio stations from each of the seven countries of Central America (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) on March 1, 2016 pronounced their support for Bill 4087, Community Media Law in Guatemala. In a powerful letter, they urge the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala to pass this law in order to fulfill their obligation as a democratic State.
On March 13th to 15th, 2016, Edison Lanza, a journalist and lawyer from Uruguay and now the Organization of American States Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression visited Guatemala where he learned more information on the political situation regarding the legalization of community radio.
By Mark Camp, Cultural Survival
Published in Strategies for Media Reform International Perspectives Edited by Des Freedman, Jonathan Obar, Cheryl Martens, and Robert W. McChesney. (2016. Fordham University Press)
Las radios comunitarias indígenas de Guatemala están atravesando por un período coyuntural en cuanto a su legalización con el nuevo cambio de gobierno en el 2016. La Iniciativa de Ley 4087, la cual solicita la legalizació
Indigenous community radio stations in Guatemala have found themselves in the midst of a hopeful period regarding their legalizations, as the new government entered in January 2016. Bill 4087, Community Media Law, which was brought to the table in Congress after years of lobbying, has achieved significant advances as it passed its first and second readings in Congress.
La Red Centroamericana de Radios Comunitarias Indígenas, la cual esta conformada por radio comunitaria indígenas de los siete países de Centroamérica (Belice, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica y Panamá), ha pronunciado su apoyo y respaldo para la iniciativa 4087, la Ley de los Medios Comunitarios, en Guatemala. En una carta poderosa, urgen que el Congreso de la Republica de Guatemala apruebe la ley para cumplir con su compromiso como un Estado Democrático.
Cultural Survival apoya a la iniciativa 4087, Ley de Medios Comunitarios, la cual esta siendo considerada en el Congreso de la Republica de Guatemala. El voto para la iniciativa podría estar programado para el martes, 9 de febrero, 2016 a lo mas pronto y para ser aprobado, 105 de los 158 miembros del congreso tienen que votar a favor de la ley. La Iniciativa 4087 modificaría la ley existente de telecomunicaciones guatemalteca para permitir acceso a frecuencias radiales para radios comunitarias sin fines de lucro en cada municipio del país.
Cultural Survival stands in support of Bill 4087, Community Media Law, which is currently being considered in the Guatemalan Congress. A vote on this bill could be scheduled for as soon as Tuesday, February 9, 2016 and in order for it to pass, 105 of the 158 members of congress must vote in its favor. Bill 4087 would modify the existing Guatemalan telecommunications laws to allow access to non-profit community radio licenses for each municipality in Guatemala.
Riding the tides of Guatemala’s recent political uprising, congressional allies in Guatemala have managed to insert the Community Media Bill 4087 onto the agenda in Congress this week in Guatemala City.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.