[MiamiHerald] While the mass exodus of more than 2.3 million Venezuelans and the murder of more than 300 anti-government protesters in Nicaragua are making big headlines, it may be time to pay attention to another country in the region that is also moving rapidly toward totalitarian rule: Bolivia.Bolivian President Evo Morales announced last week that he will submit to his country’s Congress - where he enjoys a comfortable majority - a “law against lies,” which would penalize news about his government that he doesn’t like.
In several statements in recent weeks, Morales said he will propose a law to “punish liars” in the media and to “moralize” independent news organizations. The Inter-American Press Association has denounced that the proposed law would impose an all-out censorship on the media.
It’s ironic that Morales does even dare to publicly bring up the issue of lying. He has repeatedly promised to retire after finishing his constitutionally-allowed term, only to circumvent the rule of law to re-elect himself several times.
It’s time for the region’s diplomatic community to speak out about the slow-motion coup d’etat that’s taking place in Bolivia before it escalates into a Venezuela or Nicaraguan-style crisis.