Don't lie to me, Argentina
October 11th 2009 22:09
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, for whom freedom of the press has become politically inconvenient
There are two reasons for a national government to introduce legislation establishing ownership and other regulatory controls over the media. The first reason is to prevent monopolies — nobody wants Rupert Murdoch owning everything. The second reason is to muzzle critics of the government.
The second reason is usually dressed up as the first. In Argentina, the Senate on Saturday approved new laws which critics say target media outlets critical of the government. The government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner says the intent is to diversify the public airwaves.
The legislation was pushed before Parliament by the President after months of plummeting popularity caused in part by press criticism. This criticism is conveniently not mentioned in the official explanation for the new laws.
The Argentine Senate voted 44 to 24 in favour of the Bill, after the lower house, the Congress, approved it last month by a vote of 147 to 4. This, however, is far from an accurate reflection of acceptance. The Bill was debated, often heatedly, for lengthy periods. The Congress vote was so one-sided because the legislators who opposed the Bill, seeing they would lose the vote, left the House and refused to cast a ballot.
The new laws allow the creation of a regulatory agency and ownership rules. Dissenting parliamentarians have promised to take legal action to challenge the legitimacy of the vote.
Argentina's Committee to Protect Journalists said, "Many Argentine journalists and free press advocates acknowledge a need to overhaul broadcasting regulations enacted in 1980, during military rule, but have concerns about this Bill. We believe that the regulator must be autonomous and independent to ensure that broadcast concessions are not subjected to political interference."
A free press is the most identifiable indicator of any government's commitment to civil liberty. Any step to curtail freedom of the press is a step in the wrong direction. President de Kirchner can dress her actions in any political rhetoric she likes, but no-one is fooled: this is an action against the interests of the people and for the interests of the political survival of a government which has not met the expectations of the voters who elected them.
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