{"id":1887,"date":"2015-11-10T20:01:43","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T20:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=1887&lang=en"},"modified":"2016-03-15T09:18:42","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T17:18:42","slug":"media-monopolies-in-guatemala-and-their-influence-on-elections-the-cicig-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/media-monopolies-in-guatemala-and-their-influence-on-elections-the-cicig-report\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Media monopolies in Guatemala and their influence on elections: The CICIG report"},"content":{"rendered":"

EntreMundos Analysis. September, 2015<\/i><\/p>\n

The July, 2015 report \u201cPolitical Finance in Guatemala\u201d published by the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), states, \u201ccommunications media play a decisive role in the political process\u201d (p. 55), and that three trends in the Guatemalan media market suggest that the mass media have a strong negative influence on elections.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first trend is that \u201cthe structure of national media ownership tends to reinforce social inequality, as the national media are strongly concentrated\u201d (p. 56). A 2009 investigation cited by the report reads, \u201ca dozen families dominate electronic media, controlling all television broadcasters and almost all radio broadcasters<\/strong>, and two business groups made up of nine families control all the newspapers in the country and 99% of circulation\u201d (p. 56).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mexican media mogul A\u0301ngel Gonza\u0301lez, for example, runs a monopoly of open (VHF) television channels that includes channels 3, 7, 11, and 14\u201d (p. 120). CICIG explains, \u201cGonza\u0301lez is, further, owner of one of Guatemala\u2019s principal radio networks, which not only allows him to influence political preference, but also means that all politicians must arrive at agreements with him if they want to promote their candidacies\u201d (p. 57). His nicknames in Guatemala include \u201cThe Ghost\u201d and \u201che who places and removes rulers.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Further, six corporations dominate the radio spectrum. CICIG cites two, Emisores Unidas and Radio Corporacion Nacional, as having \u201cstrong links to politics\u201d (p. 58). Emisoras Unidas, for example, is part of a group that owns Canal Antigua, PubliNews<\/em>, and Contrapoder<\/em>. One of its principal owners, Erick Archila, was Minister of Energy and Mines until May of this year, when he resigned. He is under investigation for corruption. His viceminister, Edwin Rodas, replaced him, only to resign within the week. He was arrested in June, also accused of corruption.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The second trend that worries CICIG is \u201cthe establishment or the purchase of communications media by political leaders to convert them into de facto instruments of their communication and propaganda strategies. The concentration of the media and their links to politicians have produced complex relationships that, in many cases, generate conflicts of interest\u201d (p. 59).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A 2013 study cited in the report states that participating journalists denounced \u201ccable media concentration, as certain politicians, including, for example, two former presidential candidates\u2026 have already acquired various channels, and therefore the problem of censorship is growing\u201d (p. 59).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Added to this is the growing tendency among politicians to use communications media to transmit propaganda and hide this from the authorities to be able to exceed limits on spending imposed by law. It is increasingly difficult to monitor both the media and political parties, since the parties increasingly use local, regional, and international media, and \u201csome television news organizations disguise candidates\u2019 ads as news\u201d (p. 49). \u201cThis involves hundreds of businesses that broadcast several hours of advertizing a day as well as the infomercials of local political figures\u201d (p. 59).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Because of all this, TSE authorities and private studies like those of Citizen Action \u201conly take into account a sample\u201d of political party spending in communications media and the free publicity the media often offer (p. 49).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Further, \u201cthrough agreements that include access to media, people affiliated with owners and interested parties have been candidates for Congress or named to cabinet positions. And\u2026 some parties have created media conglomerates that respond directly to their interests\u201d (p. 82).<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy of med-user.net\/~crusty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EntreMundos Analysis. September, 2015 The July, 2015 report \u201cPolitical Finance in Guatemala\u201d published by the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), states, \u201ccommunications media play a decisive role in the political process\u201d (p. 55), and that three trends in the Guatemalan media market suggest that the mass media have a strong negative influence on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[426,409,410,453,428,424],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corruption","category-culture","category-economy","category-frontpage-en","category-money-in-politics","category-politics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/media-monopoly.jpg?fit=728%2C388&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-ur","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1864,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/political-finance-in-guatemala-the-cicig-report\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1887,"position":0},"title":"Campaign Finance in Guatemala’s 2011 elections: The CICIG Report","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 noviembre, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo: CICIG chief Iv\u00e1n Vel\u00e1squez, from Colombia. 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The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) cites\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCorruption\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/corruption\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/cicig.jpg?fit=1143%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4418,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/the-art-of-protest-mario-valdez\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1887,"position":2},"title":"The Art of Protest: Mario Valdez","author":"EntreMundos","date":"4 septiembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The day after Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales ordered armored vehicles donated by the US to surround the offices of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Mario Valdez got to work in Guatemala City\u2019s Constitution Square. 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The Public Ministry\u2019s Money Laundering Prosecutor\u2019s Office is investigating the\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCorruption\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/corruption\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/jimmymorales.jpg?fit=1131%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3454,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/civic-participation-on-the-local-level-is-fundamental-to-democracy\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1887,"position":4},"title":"Civic participation on the local level is fundamental to democracy","author":"EntreMundos","date":"15 septiembre, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We must transform an illusory democracy based only on the vote to genuine democracy based on an active and informed citizenry. \u00a0 Think globally, act locally; 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