Days after the Ecuadoran government shelved a process to dissolve a press freedom watchdog group in the country, the Associated Press (AP) reports that President Rafael Correa told the agency Latin American journalism in the worst in the world and a threat to democracy.
“There are journalists engaged in politics without any responsibility and that’s extremely bad for democracy. Are they journalists or are they politicians. Please define, but do not hide in journalism being political. That’s what we have,” the AP quoted Correa.
According to the AP, Correa said that the level of professionalism and ethics is higher in the United States and Europe, and that Latin American media defend the status quo.
The article continues: “The president ridiculed what he described as ‘the image of good journalists persecuted by corrupt politicians who abuse power…For a moment imagine that it can be the contrary, corrupt journalists who abuse power persecuting honest politicians. That often happens in Latin America,’ he said.”
The news agency said it interviewed Correa on Sept. 29, a day after he addressed the UN General Assembly in New York.
On Sept. 25, the Andean Foundation for Media Observation & Study, also known as Fundamedios, announced on Twitter that the National Communications Secretariat (Secom for its acronym in Spanish) had shelved the dissolution process against it. Yet, the government agency also issued a “final warning,” saying Fundamedios needed to adhere to its statutes.
Secom notified the NGO earlier this month that it was beginning the process of dissolution because the organization had not complied with a statute prohibiting it from exercising political activities. Immediately following, journalists, press freedom groups, multilateral organizations and the U.S. State Department spoke against or expressed concern with the government’s actions.
Freedom of expression organizations previously have expressed concern about Correa’s language with regards to the press and how it affects public opinion and actions.
“We cannot say that President Correa or the government are promoting attacks against journalists, but it is evident that his stigmatizing discourse makes his most devoted supporters see journalists as a target,” Fundamedios Executive Director César Ricaurte told the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas in May 2013. “By being the enemies, the anti-patriots who are endangering the citizens’ revolution, (journalists) become political enemies that can be targeted by anyone who considers attacking them.”
Correa’s criticisms are not restricted to Ecuadoran or Latin American media. In a Sept. 5 Tweet from his personal account, Correa tagged British newspaper The Guardian with the following message: “@Guardian, show a little bit of professional integrity. Do some research, or at least pick up the phone.” He also shared a video claiming that The Guardian lied in its coverage of protests in Ecuador, in which it said demonstrators were met with physical repression from police and military.
In addition to harsh language from the president and administrative sanctions, including those from Secom and media-regulatory agency Supercom, the Ecuadoran government’s tense relationship with independent media and freedom of expression organizations sometimes involves limited access to public information or officials and judicial action.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
