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A report from the University Observatory of Human Rights (OUDH) of El Salvador denounces attacks, espionage and the disrepute against journalists and the media, which violates freedom of the press. The report also points out little or no access of the population to public information, which prevents access to data to “dimension the reality in which they live”.
A hostile environment faces journalistic work in El Salvador. This is denounced by the report Freedom of the press and access to public information, prepared by the University Observatory of Human Rights (OUDH).
An investigation by the group identified that journalists and media outlets that critically question government management were the target of dozens of attacks, intimidation, cases of espionage and discredit throughout 2021.
It is a situation that puts fundamental rights in a democratic system at risk. In this case, officials from the Government of President Nayib Bukele and the Executive itself are accused of committing most of this type of aggression, according to the document published on Tuesday, July 26.
The attack on reporters “has been a constant during the study period (…) This amalgamation of events shows that there are serious effects on press freedom,” the study highlights.
And it is that since Bukele came to the Presidency, in 2019, and until the cases that were documented in 2021, 421 attacks against the journalistic union have been registered, according to data from the Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES).
These are situations that have been increasing. Throughout 2019, 77 cases of attacks on journalists were documented, in 2020 125 violations were recorded and in 2021 the number of cases rose to 219. This is a rebound of 184%.
Researcher Carla Quinteros assured that El Salvador is in a “critical phase”, because there is a “criminalization and persecution” of the work of the press through “hate speech and stigma”. The aggression also transcends through digital attacks that come mainly from a “government apparatus,” the expert pointed out.
“A sick democracy”: the population has little access to information
The attacks are not only aimed at restricting press freedom, but also at blocking access to information by residents, according to the report.
The OUDH report highlights that there is little or no access to public information that directly affects citizens, so “they cannot access data or statistics that allow them to measure the reality in which they live,” Quinteros stressed.
“There is no access to information, therefore journalists cannot generate journalistic or investigative notes and the population is not really aware of what is happening in the country and cannot exercise their right to be informed,” he added.
Given this scenario, Salvadorans live in the midst of a democracy that “is sick,” described the vice-rector for Social Projection of the UCA, Omar Serrano.
“Simply, without information there is no effective citizen participation (…) Access to public information also makes it possible to examine the government’s actions and constitutes a necessary basis for debate,” the official explained.
From fear of the gangs to fear of the Police
In recent years, the popular president Nayib Bukele has received strong criticism from human rights organizations and some governments for his authoritarian turn.
Although his popular bets on security and economy, such as the adoption of bitcoin as a payment currency and the frontal “war” against gangs, a scourge that has affected the nation for decades, led the president to place himself in an index of approval that was around 80% last January, his measures also leave collateral victims.
On Tuesday, hundreds of relatives of those arrested during the emergency regime imposed by his Administration since the end of March after an escalation in homicides demanded the release of “innocent arbitrarily detained.”
Some citizens, who protested in front of the headquarters of the Office for the Defense of Human Rights and the Legislative Assembly, assured that they went from fearing the gangs to the Police, since they point out excesses.
“We feel scared,” said Karen Gálvez, who lives abroad and returned to the country after her brother’s arrest, and said that she was questioned by some officials about her entry into the country, her artistic tattoos and for carrying two phones.
Authorities in El Salvador have arrested more than 46,600 people, accusing them of being gang members. Until the beginning of this month of July, more than 38,000 remained in the investigation stage of criminal proceedings.
However, some activists say that among those arrested are innocent people.
With EFE and local media
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