Founded in 1996, ABI is Bolivia’s official news agency.
Media assets
News agency: ABI
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
The Bolivian news agency ABI, much like other state-controlled media outlets in the country, operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Presidency, which answers directly to the president.
Following the shift in government in 2020, the newly elected authorities from the Socialist Party (MAS) undertook an organizational overhaul of all state media, including ABI. This maneuver strongly indicated an effort by the government to tighten its grip on the levers of state-run media, cementing its control over information channels.
Source of funding and budget
No information about the ABI’s budget has come to light. The agency doesn’t generate revenue through advertising, and all its content is freely accessible online.
Editorial independence
An informal review for this project unveiled that the majority of the agency’s output primarily comprised critiques targeting former President Morales, alongside pieces portraying the government in power prior to the 2020 elections in a favorable light.
A follow-up analysis revealed a noticeable shift in the outlet’s editorial stance post-2020, with its content tilting in favor of the newly instated administration at the time. The most recent analysis, conducted in March 2024, echoed this trend, exposing an ongoing pro-government bias in its coverage.
No domestic laws or independent frameworks to verify the ABI’s impartiality have come to light.
March 2025