Bolivia TV

Bolivia Televisión (abbreviated BTV) is the first television station of Bolivia and serves the only means of television communication from the government. The channel was established in August 1969 under the government of Luis Adolfo Siles after years of planning by the government of then-recently deceased René Barrientos. It is a state-owned broadcasting network. Created to replace the previous public station Televisión Boliviana or TVB, it was the audience leader as it was the only legal television station in the country until 1984, when private television stations were legalized in Bolivian territory. The station claims to be plural and the only media outlet reaches out to the whole population. Bolivia TV has been accused by society and opposition politicians of being a means of propaganda for the government in power. Most of the channel's content belonged to social organizations and figures affiliated with the ruling party. State television in Bolivia emerged a long time after the same started in other Latin American countries. On October 5, 1965, the government signed Supreme Decree 7345 to create the Radio and Television Direction, which was followed by Decree-Law 7454 on December 22 the same year for the government to control the service without specifying technical characteristics. The latter decree suggested that "the degree of cultural and educational development in the country makes it necessary, timely and advisable to incorporate the Television Service into the active life of the nation", with "predominantly cultural and educational purposes".