Reporters Without Borders (RSF in French) denounced destructive attacks on media outlets in Chile, forcing some to close, reported the Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish) on Nov. 29.
After arguments from the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj in Portuguese) and similar journalist groups, senators approved a bill to amend the Constitution that requires practicing journalists to have an advanced degree on Nov. 30.
For the second time in just over a week, the Caracas offices of Public Space, a Venezuelan freedom of expression NGO, were attacked. On Nov. 26, electronic equipment donated after the Nov. 16 robbery was stolen.
A journalist critical of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez received threats over Twitter and on his cell phone on Nov. 20, reported the freedom of expression NGO Public Space.
Brazil's military police attacked journalists covering a workers' protest on Nov. 24, in front of Johnson & Johnson's offices in São José dos Campos, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, reported the website Agora Vale.
The editor-in-chief of the Venezuelan weekly newspaper Sexto Poder, Leocenis García, was released from prison and taken to a private clinic the night of Nov. 21 after spending 12 days on a hunger strike in prison to protest the charges against him, reported El Nacional.
Despite the denouncements of international organizations and charges of kidnapping and torturing two photographers, Chilean security forces continue to crack down on the practice of freedom of expression. On Nov. 21, police intimidated and attacked journalists covering a protest against a tribute to a former member of the military dictatorship, reported the website Opera Mundi.
Brazil recently passed its own sunshine law, codifying the right to make freedom of information requests from the government. While the legal battle over the law’s passage is over, many Brazilians are unsure about how to go about making freedom of information requests. The website Queremos Saber (“We Want to Know”) is trying to change that. This pioneering project seeks to facilitate information requests in Brazil and make communication between citizens and public servants more transparent.
On Nov. 17, electronic equipment and office supplies were stolen from the Venezuelan freedom of expression NGO, Public Space, in the capital city of Caracas, reported the Press and Society Institute.
Um locutor de rádio foi esfaqueado e agredido na cidade de El Alto, próxima à La Paz, capital da Bolívia, em 15 de novembro, segundo informações do jornal Crónica Viva.