  We calculate the value of the Fr\"ohlich electron-phonon interaction in
manganites, cuprates, and some other charge-transfer insulators and show that
this interaction is much stronger than any relevant magnetic interaction. A
polaron shift due to the Fr\"ohlich interaction, which is about 1 eV, suggests
that carriers in those systems are small (bi)polarons at all temperatures and
doping levels, in agreement with the oxygen isotope effect and other data. An
opposite conclusion, recently suggested in the literature, is shown to be
incorrect. The frequency and temperature dependence of the optical conductivity
of ferromagnetic manganites is explained within the framework of the bipolaron
theory.
