Democracy Dies without Journalism
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In the past year, avenues for curbing the right to information have multiplied and diversified:
◦ The Executive Branch disrespects the press. The Public Prosecutor’s Office works in conjunction with the Judicial Branch to fabricate cases and decline to investigate abuses against journalists. A political culture of opacity has coerced public information offices into becoming the first layer of censorship.
◦ Government communications offices dedicate public resources to campaigns to discredit and harass reporters — in particular, women — who question the conduct of public officials.
◦ Reporters and their families face intimidation and even physical assaults. Those working outside the capital face even sharper attacks from local authorities, prosecutors, and judges.
We call attention to these abuses on Guatemala’s Day of the Journalist because the work we perform as conveyors of information to the public is a precondition of democracy.
Thanks to the press, the public knows how tax money is used and learns of abuse of public office, like overvalued and defective public works. Were it not for journalism, the public would not have learned that the Guatemalan government negotiated unfavorable terms in the procurement of 16 million Russian vaccines, nor that the hospital in Guatemala City’s La Industria Park only has 300 ICU beds, compared to the 3,000 promised by President Giammattei. Journalists meticulously investigated and told these stories.
A day without reliable information is a day of darkness. We call on you to act in defense of independent journalism. In Guatemala.
Press Against Censorship Guatemala
#NoNosCallarán (“We won’t be silenced.”)
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