Freedom of the press in Peru
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Peru has established democratic political institutions that indicate an improvement in their press freedom environment as corruption continues to be a concern.[1] There have been multiple shifts in the level of freedom of the press in Peru, starting in the late 1900s when the country was opressed, to the early 2000s where the country was free; Only recently has the country been ranked as partly free.[1] Peru's political system and its changing political status has affected its overall press freedom.
History[]
The following major historical events reveal the influence of political figures and historical events on the country's press freedom environment.
The period of military rule (1968-80)[]
Press freedom in Peru underwent its worst stage during the military regime, also known as the Peruvian Military Junta, led by Juan Velasco Alvarado in the years 1968 to 1980. The major impact of this political system in Peru was the closing and censorship of broadcast and print news media, as the president implemented a new press law demanding the expropriation of all national newspapers in 1974.[2] Newspapers were closed and publishers were sent into exile due to accusations about distorting and influencing the public.[2][3] Velasco expropriated the country's major newspapers, as well as the main television channels and radio stations.[3] Only those media platforms that shared the regime's main aims, to align the means of communication with the social interest of Velasco, remained working.[3] Velasco decided to use government-appointed bureaucrats to look over the articles being published[3] such that the papers published resembled the military regime's principles.Hector Cornejo Chavez was one of the figures appointed to overlook El Comercio as he was one of Velasco's must trusted advisers.[3] Even though Velasco managed to hide opposing opinions on the regime coming from newspapers or mass media platforms, a few independent press managed to survive throughout the late 1970s.[2]
The Fujimori decade (1990-2000)[]
Peru underwent an internal war characterised by the rising of the Shining Path's guerrilla, and terrorist actions, which led Peru under military rule.[3] Peruvian journalists continued to have problems of freedom of the press concerning economic instability and threats from the growing guerrilla movements, until a Japanese descended president, Alberto Fujimori, took power after the 1992 coup d’état.[3] Fujimori put private property and market in the centre of the country's development.[2] The constitution turned from a democracy into an authoritarian regime in 1992.[2] Mainly the newspapers were impacted as troops occupied the newspaper buildings, forcing journalists to show them the work before publishing it.[2] Fujimori requested for the troops to leave the buildings and visited El Comercio to apologize for their actions in the portrayal of their authoritative regime as a dictatorship, while also mentioning the existence of unrestricted press freedom in Peru.[3] Fujimori did not intervene directly since most media platforms agreed with his objectives, thus maintaining the regime's stability. However, media interventions played a role in bringing down Fujimori, revealing the incompatibility of a free press and a dictatorship in Peru.
Contemporary democracy (since 2000)[]
Since the end of Fujimori's regime, there has been a recovery democracy that influenced the freedom of the press in Peru.[2] There are several occasions that reveal the aim for a democracy. In 2001, president Alejandro Toledo tried to eliminate corruption in order to restore press freedom[2] in which the government introduced a law, which three years later allowed for the freedom of expression, press freedom and media. In 2011, a bill that eradicated jail time for defamation and replaced it with fines and community service, revealed a small progress toward achieving completely press freedom.[4] However, in December 2012, public access to information about national security and defense was denied,[4][5] along with a new cyber crime legislation introduced in October 2013, which reduced the use of government data.[5] There has been multiple shifts in the laws that apply to journalists being able to gather data. Despite the existence of access to information laws as Peru is a democratic country, transparency regarding official documents are inconsistent in practice and journalists face difficulties when gathering information and when publishing articles in all media platforms.[5]
2018's Ranking of Peru's press freedom[]
The 2018 World Press Freedom Index shows a slight overall improvement in respect for press freedom in Latin America.[6] However, Latin American countries such as Peru still suffer recurring problems of violence, impunity and authoritarian policies towards citizens that work as journalists.[6]
Peru occupies the 88th position of 180 listed countries all over the world when it comes to press freedom, with the lowest number in the ranking being the countries with more press freedom, according to the 2018 World Press Freedom Index.[7] Peru also occupies the 6th position out of 12 countries in South America, according to the latest World Press Freedom Index 2018.[8] Each index reflects the level of freedom available to journalists, as the researchers reported it is based on an evaluation of the independence of media, pluralism and the quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each country.[9]
As the rankings show, Peru continues to have noticeable problems when talking about press freedom as media freedom is threatened by the press laws that allows for journalists to be punished with imprisonment, and for expanding news that can damage the reputation of a company, person or the government.[9] Hence journalists must avoid topics such as corruption, social conflicts or drug trafficking.[9]
Attacks, threats and murders against Peruvian journalists[]
In Peru, there is a complicated environment for journalists. These cases reveal the risk of being a journalist in Peru.[10]
See also[]
- Freedom of speech by country
- Freedom of the press
- Human rights in Peru
- Internet censorship and surveillance by country
- List of newspapers in Peru
- Media of Peru
- Telecommunications in Peru
- Television in Peru
- World Press Freedom Index
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Peru". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Peru - MEDIA FREEDOM". MEDIA FREEDOM. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Gorriti, Gustavo (1993). "Living Dangerously: Issues of Peruvian Press Freedom". Journal of International Affairs. 47 (1): 223–241. JSTOR 24357093.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Peru". Free Speech and Free Press Around the World. 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Peru". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "RSF Index 2018: Mixed performance in Latin America". RSF (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ "Country Profile Peru". Media Ownership Monitor. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ "2018 World Press Freedom Index | Reporters Without Borders". RSF. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Summer, Eva. "Middle ranking for Peru regarding freedom of the press". PeruTelegraph. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ "The other face of press freedom in Peru". International Press Institute. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Peru mayoral candidate Daniel Urresti acquitted of Hugo Bustíos murder". cpj.org. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Internet, Unidad Editorial. "Organizaciones internacionales condenan el asesinato de un periodista en Perú | Noticias | elmundo.es". www.elmundo.es. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ "Sujetos atacan a periodista peruano e intentan cortarle la lengua - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "La Directora General de la UNESCO denuncia el asesinato del periodista peruano José Feliciano Yactayo Rodríguez". UNESCO (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Attackers set fire to car of Peruvian radio journalist". cpj.org. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
- Freedom of the press by country
- Communications in Peru
- Human rights in Peru