Press freedom has experienced a disturbing decline in several Latin American countries in the past decade, said Karin Karlekar, project director of the Freedom of the Press survey, at a July 9 event hosted by Freedom House and the American Task Force Argentina.
The closure of another independent media outlet and numerous public comments made by President Rafael Correa attacking private media are an alarming illustration of Correa’s growing attempts to silence critical media. Freedom House calls on President Correa to retract his order preventing government officials from speaking to private media and to allow all journalists and media organizations to operate without interference.
A recent decision by a local court to invalidate President Rafael Correa’s pardon of Ecuadorean journalists Juan Carlos Calderon and Cristian Zurita for their book, El Gran Hermano, is another blow to press freedom in Ecuador. The court ruled that the pardon is not an admissible legal procedure in civil matters. Freedom House calls on the government to withdraw the lawsuit, which is the only legal way to end the trial. With the ruling and the resumption of the trial, the two journalists will likely face a $2 million dollar fine.
Senator Robert Menendez expressed concern with the state of media freedom in Latin America at a panel hosted by Freedom House, and reiterated his concerns at a press conference with Senator Marco Rubio.
In less than five years since taking office, President Rafael Correa has turned Ecuador into one of the more restrictive countries for freedom of expression in Latin America and taken steps to assault freedom of association.
