Bolivian Press Association calls new insurance law for journalists a politically motivated attack on free press

The Asociación de la Prensa Boliviana (National Association of the Bolivian Press), also known as the ANP, issued a statement last week condemning the country’s new life insurance law for media workers.

According to the Bolivian newspaper La Razon, Juan León, executive director of the group, wrote a press release that criticized the law for its “political ends.” In a March 27 national broadcast, Secretary General of the National Association of the Press in Bolivia, Boris Quisbert, elaborated that the law could allow for state intervention of media companies and therefore runs contrary to press freedom.

The Bolivian government had ratified the statute known as “Law 315 of Private Life Insurance for Press Workers” on Dec 10, 2012. Under the law, insurance would be paid for with one percent of the monthly total gross revenue of public and private media organizations and managed by a board with majority state representation.

According to the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, Bolivian journalist unions had rejected the law en masse following its ratification. ANP had also issued a press release strongly condemning the law for placing unfair financial pressures on the country’s media organizations.