Bolivia: Evo Morales Passes Law Against Racism And All Forms Of Discrimination

President Evo Morales yesterday passed the Anti-Racism approved by the Senate of Bolivia, in defense of 60 percent of the population of Indian origin, who still suffer from various forms of segregation by other sectors.

The owners of the dance clubs and bars can no longer deny entry to people who consider themselves "different", as happened with the Indians. With the new law will be required to display signs with the text: "All persons are equal before the law."

Evo said the law "is to decolonize Bolivia. This work will continue to decolonize Bolivia and nobody will stop this process, which is irreversible. "

Since January 2009, the new constitution provides for equality as a fundamental value of the Bolivian state, but there are no penalties against racist and that loophole is that the new law aims to fill.

Racism in the media

"We have to stop saying cursed race, that has to end. That is not freedom of expression, is offense, is humiliation, "said President Evo Morales.

Following the enactment lifted about 60 journalists who conducted hunger strikes across the country and announced that they will raise their international protest, believing that the new law contains two articles which violate various Conventions.

With the standard approved any media to authorize and publish racist ideas of economic sanctions and receive its operating license will be suspended.

Some media owners consider the reform as an obstacle to freedom of expression and do not want to budge, so called for protests and hunger strikes.

Several print media is seen headlines like "No democracy without freedom of expression."

It is recalled that in Bolivia, the most shameful episodes of exaltation to racism were promoted from the media, as happened with journalist Jorge Melgar who called from his radio program to prevent the arrival of President Evo Morales to the region.

"The Indian has no bloody footprints in these regions," he said then.

Source: Servindi

Republished from Indigenous Peoples Issues & Resources

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