[1] The Penal Code demands jail time for those persons found guilty of slandering, insulting, or defaming public officials.
[citation needed] Bolivian governments historically recognized the political significance of the media and attempted to censor communication channels employed by the opposition.
[2] In the 1940s, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) utilized the daily La Calle to mobilize support for its cause.
[2] In the early years of democratic rule, the monopoly enjoyed by Channel 7, the state-run television station, represented the greatest obstacle to freedom of the press.
[2] After several rounds with the opposition in Congress, the minister of information refused to issue permits for the opening of private television stations.
[2] One of the great surprises was the presence of six channels in the city of Trinidad, Beni Department, which had a population of fewer than 50,000.
[2] Founded in 1962 under Roman Catholic auspices, Presencia was the largest and most widely read newspaper, with a circulation of 90,000.
[2] In large measure, Presencia reflected the opinions of socially conscious Roman Catholic clergy, who often used its pages to advocate reform.
[2] Hence, El Diario was generally perceived as partisan to the views of Banzer and his ADN party.
[2] Mario Mercado Vaca Guzmán, one of Bolivia's wealthiest entrepreneurs and a well-known ADN militant, owned Última Hora.
[2] Through Hoy, which had a circulation of 25,000, and Radio Méndez, Serrate made huge inroads into the rural areas of La Paz Department for the VR-9 de Abril, his political party.
[2] Like the printed media, private television stations reflected the positions of the major political parties in Bolivia.