Guatemalan presidential candidates to sign Declaration of Chapultepec during IAPA forum

MIAMI, Florida (August 5, 2015)—The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) will tomorrow be holding a forum in Guatemala in which candidates to the presidency will sign the Declaration of Chapultepec to ratify their commitment to freedom of expression and of the press. The forum, titled “Commitment of Guatemalan Presidential Candidates to Press Freedom” has the aim of establishing a dialogue on the issue and they will be invited to sign the Declaration of Chapultepec and comply with, respect and guarantee the document’s 10 principles http://www.sipiapa.org/chapultepec3/acerca-de-la-declaracion. The IAPA, as part of its strategy in the Chapultepec forums, takes part in electoral processes to reaffirm the need for journalists and media to be able to do their work without restrictions, call for transparency in the process and, above all, have those in government in the future commit to freedom of expression and of the press, essential aspects for there to be democracy. Having confirmed their participation in the activity, to be held August 6 beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the Vista Real Hotel, are 13 of the 14 presidential candidates in the upcoming September 6 elections: Mario Estrada Orellana, Unión del Cambio Nacional (UCN); Aníbal García, Movimiento Nueva República (MNE); Mario David García, Partido Patriota (PP); Alejandro Giammattei Falla, Partido Fuerza; Roberto González Díaz Durán, Alianza Creo-Unionista; Juan Guillermo Gutiérrez Strauss, Partido de Avanzada Nacional (PAN); José Ángel López, Encuentro por Guatemala (EG); Jimmy Morales Cabrera, Frente de Cambio Nacional (FCN); Luis Fernando Pérez, Partido Republicano Institucional (PRI); Zuri Ríos Sosa, Partido Viva; Miguel Ángel Sandoval Vásquez, Alianza Winaq-URNG; Lizardo Sosa, Partido Todos, and Sandra Torres Casanova, Partido Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE). In addition to the local IAPA members there will be taking part in the forum an international IAPA delegation made up of President Gustavo Mohme, La República, Peru; Executive Committee Chairman Jorge Canahuati, Grupo Opsa, Honduras; Second Vice President Juan Luis Correa, La Estrella and El Siglo, Panama, and Executive Director Ricardo Trotti. The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida. For more information please go to http://www.sipiapa.org.