Journalist Junior Arias and his DTV channel are at the center of a new controversy. Official documents and parliamentary complaints reveal that they received more than Bs 19.2 million (USD 2.7 million) in state contracts during Luis Arce's administration
.
The records of the State Procurement System (SICOES) show direct awards for “broadcasting in television and digital media”, mainly from the Ministry of the Presidency.
A good deal with the State
Between 2021 and 2023, DTV signed multiple agreements with different
public entities.
In March 2023, Bs 2 million per media broadcast.
In November and December 2022, three contracts for Bs 1.2 million, Bs 900,000 and Bs 1 million.
Other smaller contracts, between Bs 35,000 and Bs 500,000, were repeated continuously.
One of the most controversial cases: Bs 3 million for just 24 days of transmission, equivalent to Bs 125,000 per day.
Junior Arias and his business with the state in the eye of the storm
Statewide contract network The
Ministry of the Presidency was not the only customer. Contracts also appear with:
National Customs: Bs 1.6 million (2023—2024
).
YPFB: almost Bs 700,000 between 2021 and 2023.
National Taxes (SIN): Bs 357,000 in 2023.
ASFI, ABE, BOA, Ministry of Public Works and Environment, with amounts ranging from Bs 46,000 to Bs 200,000.
In total, more than 25 contracts in 13 months, according to the complaint of the deputy Héctor Arce, of the supervised wing of the MAS.
The usual “favouritism”
The deputy denounced a clear direction of state advertising towards a journalist with a national arrival. “While community media are dying, others are concentrating millions on official propaganda,”
Arce said.
Similar cases have been seen in Ecuador, Argentina and Venezuela, where the state pattern was transformed into a tool of political control and indirect censorship.
Institutional advertising or propaganda?
The Government argues that the contracts are for “institutional” purposes. However, DTV's repetition, size and editorial affinity with the ruling party fuel suspicions of covert propaganda.
In the midst of an economic crisis, with fiscal deficits, inflation and fuel shortages, allocating millions to a single private sector generates indignation.
The political background
The case emerges in the midst of an internal fracture of the MAS, between President Arce and Evo Morales. For many, DTV media coverage plays a key role in that faction war.
The question that stands out is: are we dealing with a legitimate advertising scheme or a propaganda mechanism with money from all Bolivians?
