A day after the Ecuadorian government renewed its push for reforms that some say would weaken the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, representatives from the country's media made a presentation to the IACHR about the challenges to the free exchange of information there.
The Association of Caribbean Media Workers asked Caricom -- an organization that promotes cooperation among Caribbean nations -- to discourage its 15 members from participating in a meeting of the Organization of American States
Non-profit organizations and leaders from 15 media organizations in Latin America participated in a meeting to express their concern about a series of proposals that would weaken the Inter-American Human Rights System
Ecuadorian newspaper El Diario reported that unknown men impeded the circulation of their Feb. 25 edition in the cantons of Pedernales and Jama, in the northeastern province of Manabí.
The Andean Foundation for Social Observation and Media Studies, Fundamedios, said that its Twitter account had been suspended for six days “without warning and without explanation.” Although the account has already been reactivated, the organization said that the closing was still worrying because of its “arbitrariness,” it said on its website.
The reelected president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, said the “big loser” of the election was the country’s private press when asked how it would figure in to his new mandate, said the newspaper El Universo. Correa said he would continue with the Communications Law because what the people want “is an honest and responsible press. Never with censorship, but with ulterior responsibility.”
The website “Bananaleaks.com” accused the Ecuadorian government via Twitter of attempting to sabotage its operations, reported Fundamedios. According to journalist Santiago Villa, spokesperson for the website, the website suffered an attack from hackers early in the morning of Jan. 28, shortly after the organization published information about two Swiss bank accounts supposedly owned by President Rafael Correa, added Fundamedios.
A few days before the presidential and parliamentarian elections in Ecuador, which will take place on Feb. 17, fears of lawsuits and other legal liabilities are holding back journalistic coverage.
An exhaustive report from the Committee to Protect Journalists on the situation for journalists around the world placed Brazil and Ecuador among the top ten countries where press freedom suffered the most during 2012, and named Mexico as the country with the most missing journalists in the world.
During the last five years, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has interrupted 1,365 broadcasts to give official announcements, adding up to 11,793 minutes, equivalent to eight days time, on the air, according to the organization Fundamedios in an interview with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The president of Ecuador Rafael Correa – who is currently running for reelection – and his running mate Jorge Glas have filed a complaint with the National Electoral Commission (or CNE in Spanish) over the publication of a political cartoon that they say damages their image, according to the news agency AFP.
Mexico and Cuba were the worst places for journalists in the Americas, tensions between the government and privately-owned media continued to escalate in Ecuador and Argentina, and Canada lost its position as press freedom leader in the continent.