During this period, President Rodrigo Chaves Robles continued using public events and press conferences to praise media and journalists aligned with the government and discredit independent journalism.
During this period, President Rodrigo Chaves Robles continued using public events and press conferences to praise media and journalists aligned with the government and discredit independent journalism.
In December, the state electricity company and a state bank withdrew their advertising from the popular year-end special program "El Chinamo" due to the content of a musical satire segment considered critical of the government. According to the electricity company, the program's content did not align with its values, although nothing was offensive in the broadcasts.
In February, Minister of Culture Jorge Rodríguez Vives annulled two honorary mentions that the jury of the Pío Víquez National Journalism Award had granted to journalists from La Nación and Teletica. La Nación's reports denounced the logging and damage to wetlands in the Gandoca-Manzanillo wildlife refuge in the South Caribbean. The publications revealed irregularities in the permits granted and links between the involved business people and the government. Teletica's reports addressed the lack of water in various communities and the health risks of this scarcity.
The General Directorate of Electoral Registry and Political Party Financing (DGRE) of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) reversed the sanction it had imposed in December against Semanario Universidad for alleged violation of the electoral ban. The Weekly explained that a survey was published on February 2, before the electoral ban took effect. Still, the DGRE insisted that the data could not remain published or available when the ban began. The thesis was untenable, as it would have implied the impossibility of publishing any historical reference to the evolution of public opinion.
On February 26, journalist Carlos Castro from the digital newspaper CR Hoy attended a press conference held in Buenos Aires Park, Puntarenas, during a presidential tour. When he attempted to ask a question about the visits of those accused in a money laundering and registry fraud case to the offices of two ministers, President Chaves began asking him if he worked for "Baruch," referring to Leonel Baruch, a shareholder of the media outlet whom the government has frequently attacked. The journalist responded that he works for CR Hoy. The president's insistence and tone of questioning incited the crowd gathered in the park to shout at the journalist and demand that he leave. After several minutes of tension, the president answered the question. This type of incident has become common when independent journalists try to use choreographed "press conferences" to ask legitimate questions.
