"On the eve of the 2026 presidential election, Gustavo Petro’s government enters the final stage of its term with a largely unfinished agenda regarding press freedom. Several initiatives have been launched: public policies in favor of press freedom, debates on access to state-held information, media pluralism, combatting disinformation and the protection of journalists. However, many of these measures have not yet been formally adopted or really implemented. While reform projects and an awareness of the challenges exist, these advances still need to be transformed into concrete and effective guarantees for the new government.
'The Petro government still has the responsibility, in the last stage of its term, to consolidate initiatives and translate into concrete measures the commitments made regarding press freedom. The murders of journalists, the high levels of impunity, the restrictions on information in territories marked by armed conflict, and the recurring tensions between the government and media actors highlight the degree to which reforms are still needed to strengthen democratic safeguards for the practice of journalism in Colombia,' said Artur Romeu, director of Reporters Without Borders Latin America."
