During his last year in office, President Arnoldo Alemán continued to show intolerance and hostility toward the press. His administration supported a law requiring compulsory registration for journalists and doled out state advertising to punish or reward media outlets, depending on their coverage.
MEDIA REPORTS ON OFFICIAL CORRUPTION RAISED TENSIONS between the press and the Nicaraguan government, which claimed that the media was engaged in a conspiracy to tarnish its achievements. In March, newspapers reported that Director of General Revenues Byron Jerez, the chief tax collector, had allegedly written almost half a million dollars in checks for fraudulent…
A tense political tug-of-war between government and the press continued as a recalcitrant executive branch persisted in using its power to punish critical media. Relations between the Nicaraguan press and President Arnoldo Alemán have long been strained. Journalists charge that Alemán tends to impede access, particularly to journalists investigating his personal conduct and alleging that…