POLITICS Interview: Cesar Palacios, Paraguayan communicator

Entrevista publicada en fecha 22.05.13 en http://www.speroforum.com/ Cesar Palacios, a seasoned communicator in Paraguay, shared a few thoughts on Paraguay. He holds various degrees from the National University of Asuncion (UNA), as well as postgraduate degrees earned in Colombia and Argentina. He has also pursued courses in cultural anthropology at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Applied Anthropology at the Universidad Salesiana of Ecuador. Since 1997, Palacios has worked as a television journalist, news anchor, speaker and general coordinator at Channel 13 TV in Paraguay. From 2004 to 2007, he also served as a manager of marketing and communication program within various NGOs: Alter Vida, FM Radio Trinidad which later converted into Radio Viva FM. From September to December 2008, Palacios served as Press Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he joined as a journalism counselor the first Paraguayan diplomatic corps delegation in the high level meetings organized in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, considered to be the most important meetings in opening new opportunities and markets for the Republic of Paraguay. For two years, January 2009 until January 2011, served as the Director of Communications at the Ministry of Social Welfare, where he developed a series of projects in order to establish a positive image for the institution. Subsequently, since February 2011 to the present, is the director general of the Paraguayan government’s media coordination offices, in the Ministry of Information and Communication for Development (Secretaría de Información y Comunicación para el Desarrollo-SICOM). In the area of teaching Palacios has lectured since 1998 in the Department of Philosophy UNA and and Columbia University. He has been a member of the faculty at the Catholic University of Asuncion since 2005 and is currently teaching courses in public relations, leadership in communications. Interview follows: Peter Tase: How would you summarize the Paraguayan Foreign policy, its bilateral relations with the U.S.? César Palacios: Paraguay has a solid and a sovereign foreign policy. Although after the political impeachment of June 2012, a few doors were closed, this did not mean an isolation for Paraguayan foreign policy, considering that immediately after this regional isolation, many other opportunities emerged in the horizon and Asuncion continues to maintain impeccable its democratic standards and institutional independence in addition to keeping close ties with many European and Asian Countries. In relation to the Ministry of Information (Secretaría de Información y Comunicación para el Desarrollo-SICOM), one of the worst situations was the membership suspension of Paraguayan government news agency, IPParaguay, from the Latin American Union of News Agencies, a fact that was condemned by our office, at the meeting held in July 2012, La Paz, considering that public media such as news agencies should not take political sides and apply certain measures in response to events of this nature. I believe that US – Paraguay bilateral relations are quite strong, in fact, the United States always has supported our government in many sectors and initiatives, especially in terms of education and sustainable development. I think that we should take a greater advantage from the assistance provided by our U.S. partners who play a key role in further strengthening our education, cultural and professional training. PT: What are the main challenges of the government press secretaries and communicators of SICOM? CP: One of the main challenges for the government journalists is be independent from political parties in power, respond to the State no matter what political party is in power. In fact, the creation by an executive order of our Association namely ECOE is a valid and independent legacy that we are shaping, journalists must keep working with dedication and resilience. As for the SICOM, it is same, it’s an institution in which technicians should be heard and political party affiliation must be set aside in order to secure a continuation in the strengthening of public communication in all offices of government. PT: How has SICOM evolved, given that it is a new ministry in the government of Paraguay, what are the objectives, successes, and challenges of this institution? CP: The SICOM is a relatively new ministry, who will celebrate its 5th anniversary in August 2013, and its establishment in itself is already a great achievement considering that government communication services were reduced only to giving coverage to the presidential public information. However, thinking of a national secretariat covering public policies of a country is a very interesting challenge. The goals are being met, with the installation of a Strategic Communication Management team; training courses, undergraduate and graduate degrees in communication for development throughout the country; the establishment of 20 indigenous radios in an unprecedented fashion, and of course, the strengthening and creation of public media such as Paraguayan National Radio AM, FM, Public Radio in the city of Pilar, the creation of the news agency IP PARAGUAY; Paraguayan Public Television was created less than two years ago, in HD digital format and finally, the new National Radio of San Pedro is expected to open in the next 30 days. Other great achievements were the establishment of partnerships and project submissions at the UNASUR level, such as the Network of Public Media of UNASUR, participation in the Specialized Meeting of MERCOSUR Communicators, the recent participation in the Global Indigenous Media and International Conference of Public TV Channels, INPUT. PT: How to further improve the management of this institution? CP: All management can be improved keeping in place the experts and respecting the career path of theirs. Making changes in the administration only slows the management efficiency. In addition, an ongoing problem that has recently been presented is the lack of funding that enables the maintenance and functioning of the institution. PT: What are the main challenges for the incoming government, and how they can address the current challenges at the SICOM? CP: From my point of view, one of the great challenges will be to recover Paraguay’s role in the international stage as a country that has the full right to join a closer partnership with regional countries which have kept an obstructive relationship with Paraguay during the last year. Paraguay is a country that produces abundant food and agricultural products, and as such it must be at the forefront of the most important international markets, with meat, soy bean products, grains, energy and trained workforce. PT: According to your experience, are there enough skilled professionals of journalism in Paraguay? CP: Of course, there are many trained people in journalism, but at the same time there are many who became discouraged to pursue a career in journalism and have migrated in the nearby countries. In this context strengthening the public media and its objectives can be converted into a sector that has no affiliation and is not influenced by various business groups. PT: The use of Guarani language in public television, is an idea that identifies Paraguay among other Latin American countries, How to have a bilingual TV Channel in Paraguay, given the lack of resources by the government? CP: The lack of resources is not a problem now, because on the Public Television Channel, we are doing a bilingual channel, giving ample space to our language, which is Guarani. It is astounding how the Guaraní language has been marginalized, it has always been used in very limited contexts, however, on the Paraguayan public TV channel, Guarani is receiving the same space as any other language…in the news, special programs, documentaries, allows those who don’t speak Guarani, and they can learn the language. This must be one of the priorities of the PUBLIC TV CHANNEL, teach and educate the citizens in their nation’s autonomous language. At the present we are one of the few TV channels that are promoting the Global Network of Indigenous Television Broadcasters, considering that PARAGUAY PUBLIC TV is one of the few speaking TV channels that is broadcasting programs in Guarani language. Spero columnist Peter Tase writes on international relations and business.