Critics say a new law passed in Peru poses one of the most serious threats to independent journalism and civil society in the country in decades.
Signed by President Dina Boluarte on April 14, Law No. 32301 requires prior authorization from the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI, for its initials in Spanish) for all civil society activities and projects receiving international cooperation funding. The law says the APCI “enjoys technical, economic, budgetary and administrative autonomy.” However, it is attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its director is appointed by the government.
Journalists and members of civil society organizations say that under the official guise of establishing greater transparency in the use of international cooperation funds, the law transforms the APCI into a mechanism for political control over the activities of non-governmental organizations, including independent media. They see parallels between the initiative and similar laws to inhibit civil society already approved in authoritarian countries such as Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
"If we want to investigate human rights violations or corruption cases, the government will need to give us permission,” Fabiola Torres, director of media outlet Salud con Lupa, told LatAm Journalism Review (LJR). "This law is no coincidence. It's part of the capture of the Peruvian state by a political coalition of parties whose members are being investigated by journalists."
According to the new law, all activities, projects and expenditures that receive international technical cooperation funds must be publicly registered with the APCI. In addition, the new law authorizes the National Superintendence of Customs and Tax Administration (Sunat) to create a specialized unit to monitor NGOs. According to Boluarte, the aim is to guarantee “that resources, both public and private, are used honestly.”
The law affects independent Peruvian media outlets, which often operate under the legal status of non-profit organizations and rely on funding from international philanthropic organizations or organizations that support press freedom.
Critics say basic journalistic principles, such as professional secrecy and the ability to conduct investigations without state oversight, cannot be met under the new legislation. Additionally, they say other aspects of the law undermine the ability of journalists to defend themselves legally, by prohibiting the use of international funds for legal actions against the State. For example, it will not be possible to rely on counseling to request official information, nor to defend oneself against lawsuits filed by members of the State.
During the signing ceremony for the law at the Government Palace, Boluarte said “this law will safeguard the supreme interests of democracy, national unity, and place under exhaustive scrutiny a minority of NGOs that act against the interests of our country."
The measure, according to the government, seeks to combat entities that, in the words of the president, are “sowing hatred and attacking our system.” The bill was approved by Congress with 82 votes in favor, 16 against and 4 abstentions, and did not require a second vote, signaling broad political support.
The president claims that she seeks to promote transparency. "It's not about control, but about clarity; it's not about arbitrary oversight, but about accountability."
The law’s enactment comes amid a context of deteriorating democratic conditions in Peru. Boluarte has an approval rating of just 4%. Elected as vice president on a far-left ticket—led by Pedro Castillo, who was impeached and imprisoned after an attempted coup—she allied herself with far-right Fujimoristas and now has a super coalition in Congress. The current Congress has appointed six of the seven judges to the Constitutional Court.
Journalism and civil society represent increasingly rare critical voices in a more homogenous system. As a result, many journalists say the various branches of government have the press in their sights.
Journalists and press advocates expect the following effects of the law in regards to journalism: prior control and censorship, violation of professional and source secrecy, blocking of financing, risk of closure, increased bureaucracy and risk of arbitrary punishments.
"How can you tell an agency about the investigation you're conducting? And how can the State validate an investigation against itself?" Zuliana Lainez, president of the National Association of Journalists (ANP), said to LJR. “For us, it’s clear that it’s censorship.”
Clara Elvira Ospina, founder of Epicentro.tv, said the approval of the law is due to a combination of the private interests of politicians investigated by NGOs and the media, a desire for revenge against civil society and a broader environment of misinformation and propaganda against NGOs.
"The law is the product of a campaign by politicians with vested interests in destroying NGOs, because they have been unable to remain unpunished by strategic litigation,” Ospina told LJR. "They present NGOs as if they were using funds from other countries to harm Peru."
The strategy, which originated in Russia under Vladimir Putin, is not new in Latin America. Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Paraguay have all passed legislation that stifles civil society under the guise of protecting the country from foreign agents.
One of the criticisms of the Peruvian law is that its text is vague. By generically prohibiting projects that provoke “intervention in internal politics” or “acts that affect public order, citizen security, national defense” critics say it can inhibit virtually all criticism.
"The language of the law is so broad, so open, and so arbitrary that anything can be used as a supposed impact on the Peruvian State," Rodrigo Salazar Zimmermann, executive director of the Peruvian Press Council, which represents the largest media outlets in the country, told LJR.
The law mainly affects independent media outlets that rely heavily on international support and that tend to cover issues like human rights and the environment. However, any media outlet that receives international cooperation funding can be affected.
As for the possibility that the law mainly targets NGOs and that journalism is just a victim, Ospina says there was no miscalculation.
“They knew exactly what they were doing. They had a common and broad goal,” she said. “Furthermore, our critics do not present us as a media outlet, but as NGOs."
The new law has sparked a strong reaction from journalists and independent media outlets. In a statement signed by hundreds of professionals and organizations defending freedom of expression and human rights in Peru and abroad, they warn that the "law establishes provisions that are a direct attack on press freedom, in a way that not only contravenes the Political Constitution but also international standards and jurisprudence on the subject."
With the exception of the newspaper La República, the largest Peruvian media outlets, including the conservative newspaper El Comercio, the TV channel América Televisión, and the radio stations CRP and RPP, have not spoken out directly about the law, and did not sign the critical letter.
The United Nations expressed concern about the new legislation. Gina Romero, special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, said "the proposed amendments to the APCI Law create risks of undue interference in the structure and internal functioning of non-governmental organizations.”
In a statement sent to the Peruvian government in June 2024, UN experts warned that approving changes to the APCI Law would seriously affect human rights, especially the right to freedom of association, and would represent a setback in the international commitments assumed by the country.
The law is already in effect, and according to its text, NGOs must register with the APCI.
According to lawyer Juan Carlos Ruiz Molleda, “Law 32301 ignores basic constitutional principles, such as freedom of association, freedom of expression, the right to work and the right to participate in public affairs.”
The strategy to legally challenge it is to claim in lower courts that the law is unconstitutional, the journalists interviewed by LJR said. As the Constitutional Court had almost all of its members appointed by the current Congress (in Peru, the Court is renewed every five years), the strategy is to go to lower courts, using precautionary measures, called amparo actions, in the country.
"We're going to file amparo actions, because if a judge rules to suspend the application of the law, that could generate jurisprudence," Lainez said.
This is not the only recent regulation that may stifle the Peruvian press. In March, the country's Congress approved a law, dubbed the Gag Law, that increases prison sentences for defamation and calumnia (roughly, slander), and establishes that media outlets have 24 hours to respond to anyone who feels defamed.
The Gag Law still needs to go through a second vote to be approved, and has many similarities to a similar bill that was considered in 2023. Under the new proposed legislation, any citizen can end up arrested for a comment left on social media, said Rodrigo Salazar Zimmermann. Furthermore, the deadline for responses is very short.
“One day is practically impossible to seriously process and investigate a complaint,” Salazar Zimmermann said.
Regarding the general context that allows this, the interviewees are unanimous in stating that authoritarianism is growing in Peru. According to a survey released last year, more than half of Peruvians do not believe that democracy is the best form of government, and 87% are dissatisfied with the current model.
The country had six presidents in six years, until the unpopular Boluarte made a deal with Fujimorism to remain in power. Political fragmentation is enormous, with more than 40 parties, and it is believed that interests from drug trafficking, illegal mining and other forms of organized crime have interfered in public power.
In view of this, the threat to the Peruvian press is part of a broader risk to democracy.
"There is a very strong democratic and institutional degradation, which also affects the press,” Salazar Zimmermann said. “Peru is on the path to very strong authoritarianism.”
