The administration of Paraguayan president Luis González Macchi, long paralyzed by accusations of corruption and incompetence, was facing an impeachment challenge at the end of 2002. Throughout the year, the media had criticized the president for trivializing public concerns about his administration. In early December, the Chamber of Deputies voted to impeach him. He will…
The U.S. government took aggressive measures in 2002 to shield some of its activities from press scrutiny. These steps not only reduced access for U.S. reporters but had a global ripple effect, with autocratic leaders citing U.S. government actions to justify repressive policies.
AGAINST A BACKDROP OF TROUBLED ECONOMIES AND DEMOCRACIES, the Americas saw an increase in violent and verbal attacks against journalists during 2001. The number of journalists murdered in the region has grown, with 11 killed for their work in 2001, compared to seven in 2000 and six in 1999. The violence is also occurring in…
Journalists in Paraguay face one of the region’s most difficult working environments, in which threats, attacks, and criminal defamation lawsuits occur frequently. Throughout 2001, the Paraguayan press remained sharply divided between the ruling Colorado Party and the opposition Liberal Party. The press does cover official corruption, but media owners’ allegiances to powerful politicians and businessmen,…
New York, September 27, 2001—After a barrage of criticism from the local media and civil society, the Paraguayan government repealed a controversial new access to information law that restricted the ability of journalists to obtain public records. On September 24, President Luis González Macchi repealed Law 1728 on Administrative Transparency and Free Access to Information.…
New York, July 25, 2001–After a firestorm of criticism from the Paraguayan press, Parliament has announced plans to repeal a controversial new access to information law that severely restricts the ability of journalists to obtain public records. President Luis González Macchi signed Law 1728 on Administrative Transparency and Free Access to Information on July 16.…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned for the safety of Paraguayan journalist Séver del Puerto and his family, who have suffered an onslaught of death threats and harassment in recent weeks. We call on Your Excellency to ensure that these threats are fully investigated, and the perpetrators punished.
BY EXPOSING CORRUPTION, POLITICAL INTRIGUE, and massive abuse of power, journalists in Peru helped bring down the regime of President Alberto K. Fujimori last year. Fujimori’s dramatic fall demonstrated that the Latin American press remains a key bulwark against leaders who continue to use subtle and not-so subtle means to control the flow of information.…
A COUP ATTEMPT IN MAY (THE THIRD SUCH ATTEMPT SINCE 1996) and vice-presidential elections in August tested the Paraguayan media and caused increased political polarizarion. On May 18, rebel forces loyal to Gen. Lino Oviedo, the fugitive leader of a faction within the ruling Colorado Party, tried to take over army barracks in the capital…