By Rodolfo Varela
In Chile, the right to cultural identity, free expression, and media diversity is being pushed aside by the economic interests of foreign conglomerates.

This situation is not recent. It began during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973–1990), when the regime implemented a neoliberal economic model that included the mass privatization of state-owned companies, among them the media sector.
During that time, radio stations, TV channels, and publishing houses were handed over to large business groups—many of them with foreign ties—as part of an ideological project led by the so-called Chicago Boys. This took place alongside brutal repression of critical media and systematic censorship of dissenting voices. How can there be free markets without free press?
What’s most alarming is that before the 1973 coup, Chile’s Constitution prohibited media concentration, banning any single company from owning multiple outlets or controlling a TV station. Foreign companies could invest, but were never allowed to control Chilean media, since media were considered opinion shapers and protectors of national identity.
The dictatorship swept that legal framework away. And today, the result is clear: a country where the media no longer reflect the voice or culture of the Chilean people.
The Case of Prisa Media Chile: Monopoly Without a Flag
Today, a single foreign company—Prisa Media Chile, a subsidiary of the Spanish group PRISA—controls 10 radio stations: Coraz贸n, ADN, Radioactiva, Concierto, Futuro, Rock&Pop, Imagina, Pudahuel, FMDOS, and LOS40. It also owns the sports newspaper AS, the podcast network Podium Podcast, the digital site Somos La Percha, and a local editorial team for EL PA脥S. This is not pluralism—it’s dangerous concentration.
Prisa is not alone. Chilevisi贸n, now owned by Paramount Global, and La Red, owned by Albavisi贸n (USA), operate with content disconnected from Chilean society. Many cable channels are also owned by foreign conglomerates. Even community radio stations struggle to survive under unfair competition.
A Crisis of Identity
During national holidays, cumbia music from abroad is played instead of Chilean cueca. In many public celebrations, Peruvian food is more common than Chilean dishes. Local emerging artists have no media platform. Cultural programming has all but disappeared. This is directly linked to the absence of Chilean-owned media made for Chileans.
Chile has reached a critical point: we are a country without a voice in our own land. Media concentration doesn’t just limit information—it silences culture, weakens democracy, and erases identity.
The Call
How long will Chilean authorities tolerate this situation? Where are Congress, the National Television Council, and the telecommunications regulator? Why haven’t they passed laws to ensure true pluralism, national content quotas, and protection of media sovereignty?
The Chilean state has a long list of debts to its people. This is just one more. But the saddest part is that this one is easy to settle. All it takes is political will. Do they have it?