Is Press Freedom Secure in the Americas?

Speakers:

• Carlos Lauría, Senior Americas Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists
• Edward Schumacher-Matos, Ombudsman, National Public Radio
• Luis Manuel Botello, Senior Director for Special Projects, International Center for Journalists
• Mary Beth Sheridan, Correspondent, The Washington Post (moderator)

Summary

Americas Society and Council of the Americas (AS/COA) hosted a July 28 panel discussion on the state of press freedom in Latin America. Panelists explored the troubling rise in violence against journalists, state restrictions on the media, and how journalists can fight threats to free expression.

Marking the Ten-Year Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter

AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth opened the discussion by recognizing the tenth anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, a commitment among member nations of the Organization of American States (OAS) to strengthen democratic institutions in their countries. Farnsworth said “democracy does not just happen” but requires “active support” so that democratic ideals and institutions can flourish. Despite the view advanced in Section 1, Article 4 of the Charter that freedom of expression and a free press are essential for democracy, numerous cases of censorship and violence against journalists have been committed over the past decade. “Ten years after the charter, these things should not be happening,” said Farnsworth. Turning to The Washington Post’s Correspondent Mary Beth Sheridan, Farnsworth asked: “What is the state of press freedom and are we better off now than we were ten years ago?”

Criminal Organizations and Repressive States

Sheridan asked panelists to comment on advancements and setbacks for press freedom in the Americas over the past decade. The Committee to Protect Journalist’s Carlos Lauría identified constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression, a relaxation of libel laws, and greater access to information in some countries as positive developments across the region. However, Lauría identified two major threats to press freedom in the hemisphere: violent criminal organizations and repressive governments.

Lauría said 14 journalists have been killed already in Latin America this year, and Mexico “has become one of the most dangerous countries for press in the world.” In Mexico, drug trafficking organizations brutally target reporters who cover crime and corruption. For example, on June 20 in Veracruz, journalist Miguel Ángel López Velasco was murdered along with his wife and son. According to National Public Radio Ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos, “the power of the drug gangs is extraordinary.” Criminal organizations in Mexico are “a form of insurgency” that the state cannot control, said Schumacher-Matos, and unless the United States, Europe, and Latin America face this issue together, combatting attacks on the press won’t be possible. The influence of criminal organizations on local government means that, in many cases, journalists cannot turn to the police or judicial systems for help.

Countries in the region are failing to provide security for citizens to exercise free expression and increasingly restrict press freedom. Schumacher-Matos identified the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América, or ALBA) as the most repressive governments in the Americas in terms of press freedom. For example, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, an ALBA member country, recently sued an editor and three directors of national newspaper El Universal for libel, provoking an international outcry. On July 20, a judge sentenced the four men to three years in prison and ordered them to pay a $40 million fine. The International Center for Journalists’ Luis Manuel Botello pointed to government propaganda in Panama and criticism of the media by Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner as additional examples of Latin American actions to curtail press freedom. Lauría lamented that fear has “invade[d] newsrooms” and caused journalists to become “mute.”

Fighting Back: Blogs, Social Media, Civil Society, and International Activism

Faced with such challenges, Sheridan asked panelists what recourse journalists have and whether bloggers are subject to the same kind of intimidation as members of the traditional media. Lauría described government restrictions on bloggers, particularly in Cuba. He noted that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter provide opportunities for citizens to communicate when press is restricted. While the Internet has the potential to become a useful forum for citizens, Botello remarked that a lack of connectedness, “know-how,” and access to reliable information are obstacles to effective reporting on the Internet across much of the region. Given the growing Chinese influence in Latin America, Schumacher-Matos predicted government restrictions on Internet use would grow as more countries follow Beijing’s example.

Although journalists have organized locally to some degree, civil society has done relatively little to address repression and violence against journalists. According to Botello, civil society is in observation mode because individuals “are scared that the government might go after them.” Botello said the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression established by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been one of the only international allies, but he lamented that the office is underfunded and depends on the political will of countries in the region to carry out its mandate effectively. “More needs to be done internationally,” he concluded.