In a panel at UT Austin, four Venezuelan journalists recounted their experiences of persecution and survival during two and a half decades in a country that is no longer a democracy, where print newspapers are lacking and the official media have become hegemonic.
In a series of unprecedented events in the 'Switzerland of Central America,' Rodrigo Chaves uses authoritarian rhetoric and the state apparatus to persecute independent media. Defenders of free speech and journalists believe democracy will survive, but see risks of violence.
Juan Lorenzo Holmann, former general manager of the newspaper La Prensa, is convinced that the newspaper, which is under siege by Daniel Ortega's regime, will rise up as it has done at other times in its history. He also hopes to be reunited with his wife in Nicaragua, from where he was deported to the United States along with more than 200 political prisoners.
At least eight journalists, media entrepreneurs and journalism students were among the 222 political prisoners released and exiled to the United States, while Daniel Ortega's regime threatens to strip away their citizenship and rights as Nicaraguans.
Over the past decade, press freedom around the world is deteriorating and the list of countries facing issues has been growing. With the testimonial of seven journalists from Asia and Latin America, ISOJ 2022 debated the state of press freedom and the serious situation reporters are recently facing in India, Hong Kong, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
The main responsibilities of a journalist should be to report reality as it is and to serve as a counterweight to power without being afraid to take a stand in the face of acts of authoritarianism, human rights violations and corruption, said the journalist in a conversation with the managing editor of El País, Borja Echevarría.
The president of the Council of Ministers of Peru (PCM), Aníbal Torres allegedly tried to interfere with the allocation of state advertising for a government school campaign, requesting the exclusion of the media from Grupo El Comercio. Experts and organizations spoke out.
Pese a que en América Latina la cifra de periodistas en prisión es relativamente baja, el CPJ advirtió que en 2021 se registró un preocupante deterioro en la situación de la libertad de prensa en la región al considerar otros indicadores.
Given the recent increase in attacks and harassment of journalists in the Central American country, Prensa Contra la Censura intends to raise awareness among Guatemalans as to the importance of defending independent journalism.
Through its podcast Deliberante, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression encourages audiences to embrace Inter-American standards and especially learn the stories behind them.
Members of the press have faced extrajudicial house arrests, summons with authorities, suspension of services, withdrawal of accreditations and the presence of security agents near their homes since days before the 15-N protests.
LatAm Journalism Review (LJR) spoke with representatives of three digital media in Guatemala, who spoke about the main challenges for doing investigative journalism in the country and also how they are innovating and investing in new narrative and business strategies