Today, Wednesday, the Day of the Journalist is remembered in Paraguay in commemoration of the appearance of the first newspaper in the country “El Paraguayo independiente” on April 26, 1845. On the date, the death of the journalist Santiago Leguizamón, assassinated by hitmen in Pedro Juan Caballero 32 years ago.
Today, journalism remains a risky profession globally when it comes to maintaining ethics and credibility. From the Union of Journalists of Paraguay (SPP) they express their concern about situations of attacks on life and freedom of information. “From April 26 to today we have had two colleagues murdered, both in Pedro Juan Caballero, Alex Álvarez and Humberto Coronel. Violence and threats are a reality for press workers, mainly in the interior of the country,” lamented Santiago Ortiz, general secretary of the SPP.
The head of the union commented that they will present a bill that creates a protection mechanism for journalists and human rights defenders, which allows the State to protect press workers who are at risk or under threat. “These colleagues who were murdered were working in a risk zone, where drug trafficking and organized crime operate with impunity and where practicing journalism becomes a potential victim,” he said.
“We are also going through critical moments, in terms of the need to improve the income of colleagues and working conditions. Although many of the media in the capital have a collective contract, there are others in which this contract is not in force, so we constantly insist on advancing in collective contracting for all workers and press workers ”, he added.
He also mentioned the situation of female journalists, taking into account the latest complaints about cases of sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. “It is very serious and urgent that companies have protection policies towards their workers, and at the same time, that the State demands and imposes the guarantee of decent working conditions so that these situations do not repeat themselves,” he pointed out, referring to the fact that this 26 April is an opportunity to claim journalistic work.
Although the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic generated greater visibility in the importance of the work of press workers, it in turn caused massive layoffs that affected most of the media. Ortiz pointed out that so far the sector has not recovered, so that with fewer people working, there is a greater work overload that affects the quality of information.
SPP Activities
This morning, the bill for the Protection and Security of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders is expected to be presented, which will feature a presentation by Ulisses Netto, a Brazilian specialist on the matter. The activity will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Acosta Ñu Room, fifth floor of the Chamber of Senators.
“We believe that it is important to promote this public policy that protects press workers and freedom of expression. This is also accompanied by a series of efforts that we have been making for many years through the Union together with other institutions. We hope that the legislative process can enrich this bill and that it be approved in the shortest time possible so that it becomes a reality and that the protection of colleagues can be effectively fulfilled, ”he explained.
Starting at 12:30 p.m., a commemoration will be held for colleagues who have fallen in the exercise of journalism, in order to claim labor rights as press workers and highlight the full validity of freedom of expression, in a context of violence, political positions. This act will take place in front of the Santiago Leguizamón Monolith, located on the corner of Carlos Antonio López and Santiago Leguizamón avenues, in the Sajonia neighborhood of Asunción, where the Carlos Antonio López Park begins.