“Participación ciudadana en la creación de la Radio Comunitaria Bocina La Merced de la ciudad de Quito.”

Abstract

In Ecuador there is a total of 1064 radios between public, private and community, the latter correspond to 64 radios that represent 6% of the total; In the city of Quito, 5 community radio stations are frequently registered in AM and FM. The present investigation of qualitative type, shows the experience of Radio Bocina like a communitarian means that is not in the official registries, but that by necessity to give voice to the community, has been constituted through the virtuality. Within the theoretical framework, community radios are contextualized from an exploration in bibliographic sources of studies in Latin America. The results show Radio Bocina as a means that was born from an initiative of communication students within the La Merced parish. This paper analyzes the forms of citizen participation that were given to consolidate the proposal of this medium, the conflicts and achievements that have arisen from its creation to the present. The discussion is based on the lack of support from the State for communication initiatives such as Radio Bocina, which despite being a medium located in a rural parish, does not have a frequency. It is a situation that must be considered by governments and the community. In addition, a critique is presented about the role played by community radios and the need to build dialogues between the media and the community. So that communication is a tool for citizen participation and political empowerment.