In the last 12 months, the Americas should have experienced a democratic celebration. Since the Assembly in Mexico, the majority of the continent's population was called to the polls.
Just a few days after that meeting in November 2023, Argentina decided in a runoff its long presidential election. Weeks later, Daniel Noboa took office in Ecuador, and Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala, the latter after overcoming a severe political crisis.
So far this year, among nearly 100 countries worldwide that have held or are yet to hold presidential elections, several nations in the Americas were included; among them, two of the most populated: the United States and Mexico.
Mexico, along with El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, has already spoken, though sometimes under severe conditions. And in just a few days, Uruguay and the United States will also go to the polls.
Today, we will enjoy the insights of Marty Baron, former editor of The Washington Post, on how this pivotal election in the continent's leading power is shaping up and the potential impact a Donald Trump victory could have on institutional stability and press freedom, both in his country and across the continent.
Costa Rica and Brazil, another of the American giants, have also held municipal elections, and Chile will choose local authorities in less than 10 days.
This intense election season, combined with the fact that the Americas have been free from armed conflict for years, may give us cause to speak of a "democratic celebration." However, upon closer examination, we see this is merely an illusion.
While there are reasons to celebrate institutional continuity, there are ample grounds to be concerned about the deterioration of democracy. And this weakening of the political system is closely tied to the escalating attacks on freedom of expression and press freedom.
As our reports show, there are battles—often hidden but sometimes bloody and devastating—that have effects like traditional wars: halting development, plunging people into poverty, and forcing thousands into exile.
The attacks stem from authoritarian rulers who do not tolerate dissent, who pursue those who refuse to remain silent in the face of abuse, corruption, or internal espionage.
America is increasingly becoming a territory of imperfect or deficient democracies. Moreover, more countries are joining the list of hybrid regimes each year, led by authoritarian leaders, and three clear dictatorships (Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba) are already well established, where citizen freedoms can no longer be spoken of.
In the six months since our mid-year meeting, we mourn the deaths of four journalists—three in Mexico and one in Colombia—and nothing is known of the whereabouts of a reporter in Nicaragua.
While the number of killings is lower than the seven recorded between November 2023 and April 2024, it underscores the persistence of structural violence with no end in sight. And there is still no success in eradicating impunity.
Several Ecuadorian journalists had to flee the country due to attacks from public officials and organized crime. In Haiti, there is widespread violence perpetrated by uncontrolled gangs, making it nearly impossible to report from the streets and preventing the population from accessing information.
The electoral context we referred to not only failed to generate a truce in the wave of stigmatizations and attacks against journalists and media—as would be desirable to allow for a plural citizen debate—but in the run-up to the elections, there were spikes in aggression from candidates, supporters, or police forces.
This harassment further contaminated an already seriously compromised public discourse, tainted by the deliberate circulation of false information, spread on social media and artificially viralized to manipulate public opinion, alter election outcomes, and discredit opponents.
In Argentina, the new president, Javier Milei, continues his tirades against journalists and the media, with rhetoric that mimics Donald Trump and El Salvador's Nayib Bukele. But from the opposite ideological side, Gustavo Petro in Colombia behaves similarly. Or, from a more centrist position, Rodrigo Chaves in Costa Rica. The press is the target chosen by these leaders who are intolerant of criticism and dissent.
Violence against journalists is a recurring issue in Bolivia and Peru, while in the United States and Canada, there have been attacks and arrests of those reporting on protests related to the war in the Middle East.
The extreme example among the countries that held elections was Venezuela, where the blockade of media outlets, platforms, and social networks intensified, and there were numerous physical and verbal attacks on journalists reporting on the pre-election process or covering protests after the regime of Nicolás Maduro staged fraudulent elections.
More than a dozen journalists were arbitrarily detained and accused of terrorism and inciting hatred. Additionally, around eight radio stations were shut down by Conatel, the telecommunications regulatory body.
In Cuba, since July 2021, Jorge Bello remains imprisoned, while temporary detentions and house arrests multiply. In Guatemala, the judiciary continues to delay the release of José Rubén Zamora, detained since July 2022, despite rulings in his favor in some of the cases brought against him. Moreover, in this Central American country, over a dozen journalists remain exiled due to political persecution by the previous government.
In El Salvador, where President Bukele forced a constitutional interpretation to secure his re-election, harassment, stigmatization, and threats against reporters have multiplied. Similarly, cases of espionage and government blockades on social media have been documented by a joint mission of the IAPA and CPJ.
In Nicaragua, as in Venezuela, independent journalism is being condemned to extinction and ostracism. The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo continues to "purge" the political system and tighten the grip on freedom of expression and the press. The method mirrors the path chosen months ago and already practiced for years by Cuba: imprisoning journalists and social or political leaders and then deporting them.
In the first activity today, after this opening, we will discuss journalism in exile and the need for resilience and unity to continue informing. We will also symbolically present the Grand Press Freedom Award to the dozens of reporters who were forced to flee their countries due to persecution or threats, in countries like Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, Honduras, and Ecuador. We will also present the projects we are promoting from IAPA to help these colleagues reintegrate into the workforce.
As we said, persecution in Cuba is a daily occurrence. In September, there was a new wave of repression against independent journalism, and the regime maintains exit bans for several reporters, unless they choose to emigrate permanently.
In August, all types of private media were banned in the country, official control of the internet was tightened, equipment was confiscated, connection speeds were reduced, and surveillance and tracking mechanisms were intensified.
Throughout this day, we will hear from representatives from various countries who will speak about the main challenges affecting press freedom and, consequently, the public's right to stay informed.
One panel will address the topic of democratic blackout and its impact on freedom of expression and the press, while another will focus on the impunity of organized crime.
After lunch, we will have another symbolic moment when we present the Chapultepec Grand Prize to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for their years of work defending those who are persecuted and threatened worldwide.
Before we close the day, we will present a new edition of the Chapultepec Index of Press Freedom in the Americas, which highlights the deterioration of the environment for journalistic work.
Speaking of presentations, I invite you to download—using this QR code displayed on the screen or those you'll find at the exit of this room—a document we have prepared from the Press Freedom and Information Commission, highlighting some of the most recurrent points of friction between governments and the media: widespread barriers to accessing public information, financial and judicial harassment with multi-million-dollar lawsuits against journalists and media (as seen in Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Paraguay), stigmatization, weaknesses in protection mechanisms (as in Honduras, Ecuador, and Mexico), and discriminatory use of government advertising.
As we state in the introduction to these Standards, relationships between those in power and journalism have never been free of tension, but in recent years, this interaction has turned into open confrontation. This is not unusual for authoritarian leaders who are censors by conviction. But as we have seen, the same attitude often arises from leaders who claim to be democratic.
In response to this widespread trend, we raise our voices: official speeches that stigmatize journalistic work are not neutral, nor can they be considered just another political strategy. They are usually the prelude to direct censorship, violence, and persecution against journalists and media executives.
In addressing the current democratic crossroads in his book Infocracy, Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han revisits the distinction made by Michel Foucault four decades earlier between every citizen's right to free expression (in Greek, isegoria) and an essential value for the existence of democracy: parrhēsia, the courage to seek and speak the truth, despite the risks it entails. He defines it as a true act of bravery, of courage—the courage to dare to speak the truth.
Let us continue exercising that right and that civic duty, despite the authoritarian onslaught.
