Uruguay’s Supreme Court announced in October that it would support the formation of a roundtable on the safety of journalists in the country. The announcement came amid an increase in isolated cases of media aggression.
The proposal was made by the Uruguayan Press Association (APU) at a celebration of the “Day of Journalists and Media Workers”, which coincided with the 18th anniversary of the APU, at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo. The table aims to “strengthen peace, democracy and sustainable development” and has also been endorsed by UNESCO, the Ministry of the Interior and the Office of the Attorney General.
Dr. John Pérez Brignani, Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice, who was present at the celebration, stated: “It is essential that journalists unite and work to protect freedom of expression and to protect their safety, which is essential for the State of Democratic Law.”
Álvaro Pan Cruz, director of APU and President of the Federation of Journalists of Latin America and the Caribbean (FEPALC) explained in an interview with Latin American Reports that the table was proposed after the APU noticed an increase in attacks against journalists in recent years. These attacks took various forms, including mocking, stalking and threatening journalists.
While Pan acknowledged that these incidents appear to be “isolated,” he explained, “We don’t want this to continue to escalate and take on other dimensions,” citing Paraguay as an example. He explained that, in Paraguay, isolated incidents of aggression against journalists escalated and became more widespread, until the situation had adopted “such a degree of gravity that it was very difficult to reverse it”. This led to the establishment of a table similar to that of Uruguay.
Uruguay’s backbench is still in the process of defining the clear measures it will take, which it will seek to implement after the second round of elections ends at the end of this month. For now, Pan explained, APU has “laid the foundation stone” of the round table which seeks to be “multidisciplinary” and represent “multiple actors”.
Between May 2023 and May 2024, the number of attacks and aggression against journalists in Uruguay doubled: something Pan says has multiple causes. He identified the treatment of the media by the government of President Luis Lacalle Pou as a contributing factor, recalling that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “This government held regular press conferences and the way to get into that conference was not to arrive, to enter and participate. Instead, there was a selection [of journalists] that entered every time. Not everyone came in, not everyone asked questions.” Pan described this as “a way to subtly limit journalistic work”.
Pan also argued that collaborations between major media outlets and large corporations may have contributed to increased hostility towards journalists. “Media law favors a certain concentration in a few hands,” he said, adding, “Increasingly, major media are not journalistic companies per se, but rather they answer to corporations that suddenly devote themselves to other topics.” .
Discussing the importance of protecting Uruguay’s democratic values, Pan referred to the conditions under which Uruguay’s 1973-1985 dictatorship was born. He explained that the dictatorship was carried out “in collaboration with politicians belonging to traditional parties”. He emphasized that the dictatorship is called “civil-military dictatorship” in Uruguay, due to the cooperation of both sides.
Therefore, while Pan believes that the external perspective of Uruguay as a country where democracy and freedom of speech are protected is “well-earned” due to the country’s “protection of values”, he explained that the table was introduced “because there are some indications that this democracy, this respect for institutions, is being undermined.”
Pan concluded, “If we want to continue to be seen as a strong democracy with respect for institutions and independent journalism, then we have to work towards that.”
