On Sunday, September 28, 2014 Cultural Survival staff member and founder of community radio Ixchel Stereo, Anselmo Xunic, presented as a panelist in the weekend-long “Third National Meeting of Journalists” in Guatemala City. Over the course of the weekend there were approximately 100 participants representing local, national, commercial, and independent media organizations, such as the Center for Informative Reports on Guatemala, 21st Century, Vea Canal, Rajo Punto, and United Radio Stations, among many others. These journalists represented print, radio, television, and photo reporting and had come together to discuss issues and themes common to media professionals of all stripes. They analyzed the current circumstances of journalism in Guatemala, discussed challenges to journalists’ security, freedom of expression, Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees freedom of expression, and the Human Rights Ministry of Guatemala.
Following a heated conversation on Sunday on the challenges women face in the media world, including sexual harassment, bribes, and other forms of discrimination, Mr. Xunic and colleague Julio Ismalej of Juntoj Radio of Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, took the stage to bring the group’s attention to the unique discrimination and harassment that community radio reporters and administrators face in Guatemala. Mr. Ismalej talked about Juntoj Radio’s initial struggle to access a frequency and, when it finally had, the government-sponsored raids that robbed it of every piece of equipment, leaving only a note stating that the Telecommunications Agency had authorized the raid. After several years seeking support and building a network, the station finally got back on the air. Mr. Ismalej commented that community radios cannot manage on their own. “We need the support of our listeners too,” he said.
The Guatemalan Association of Community Radios, once a network of 22 stations, has lost many members to the sense of fear the government imposes each time it raids another radio. But “[w]e don’t do it as a threat to the government,” Mr. Ismalej insisted. “We do it to bring community radio to people’s home as an alternative, as a social service.”
Mr. Xunic then shared the history of how the Guatemalan government disingenuously conflates community radios with the thousands of religious, commercial, and otherwise privately owned non-community radios operating without licenses. Community radios in Guatemalan often operate without licenses because there is not a legal process that makes it possible for them to attain licenses; yet their goals and missions are pluralistic and non-profit which distinguishes them. Their right to exist as Indigenous community radios is also guaranteed in the Guatemalan Peace Accords and Constitution, as well as international agreements to which Guatemala is signatory, while small commercial and religious stations are not technically protected in this way. Unlike Argentina and other countries that have created distinct licensing processes for community and non-profit radios, Guatemala forces all radios to obtain licenses through public auction, in which impoverished community radios, run by volunteers and depending on income from donations and minimally sponsored ads for small, local stores and not large companies, cannot hope to compete.
This meeting was a special opportunity for Mr. Xunic and Mr. Ismalej to discuss the issues facing community radio with a large group of media professionals that may not have been as well-versed in the issues unique to community radio. As journalists with all kinds of organizations, some of them were familiar with the persecution of those attempting to provide real information in all forms, yet to others, the issue of community radio may have been new. Additionally, representatives of commercial radios were present and vocal in their opposition to community radio’s “pirating” of frequencies without legal authorization, and the panel provided an opportunity for Mr. Xunic and Mr. Ismalej to engage on these topics.
The panel sparked lively conversation among the participants, and Mr. Xunic and Mr. Ismalej had the opportunity to address concerns and questions from audience members on how community radios finance themselves and how they access frequencies. Concerns were raised about evangelical stations, which are numerous across Guatemala and which are not community in nature despite efforts to present themselves as such, and Mr. Xunic clarified that although religious stations may also be struggling for legalization, the fight for Indigenous community radio is a distinct one. The panel moderator commented that the government only hears the demands of the corporate sector, unlike the Argentine government, which, for example, has created three radio categories and appropriate means to access frequencies in each of them. She asked why the Guatemalan government can get away with this abuse, and responded to her own question by posing an implicit challenge: the citizenry does not fight it or necessarily even realize it is happening. Then, she closed the panel with the firm acknowledgement that “Guatemalan society deserves to have community radios.” This space was an opportunity for increased visibility of the challenges and sometimes dangers facing those who dare to support community radio. Mr. Xunic is hopeful that the apparent interest in community radio will result in "something [being] published about community radio. I believe this was an opportunity to raise awareness of our struggle before a large group of journalists. It’s not often we get the chance to speak before such a big group. I really value the opportunity they gave us by including community radio as a panel in the event.”
