A critical report by a number of media outlets to the Inter-American Press Society (SIP) has highlighted at least 13 different instances in which the current executive has attempted to limit freedom of expression.
Denouncing “acts of aggression towards, and attempts to discredit” critical media, the report points the finger to the government of Juan Carlos Varela, as well as to other supposedly independent state institutions such as the country's Electoral Tribunal.
On March 8, 2016, the Electoral Tribunal served notice to newspapers Panama America and Critica, part of Epasa, as well as to international TV channel CB24, regarding an administrative process the institution had launched against them for supposedly violating the country's electoral code. Epasa is liable for a fine of up to $50,000 as a result of this.
The rationale put forward by the Electoral Tribunal concerns the publication of extracts of a poll carried out by Doxa Panama, which allegedly had not been registered with the TE prior to its publication, as the law dictates. “The electoral tribunal had threatened to sanction Epasa’s media with fines of between $5,000 and $25,000”, the report reads.
The Epasa newspapers have been harsh critics of the attempt on the part of the TE to introduce a draconian law sanctioning with closure all media that failed to comply with the news blackout required during an electoral contest.“This excessive measure was strongly criticized not only by these two newspapers but also by civic society at large", to the report explained.
Epasa also failed to earn friends at the TE by publishing reports unmasking widespread acts of nepotism at the institution: “Epasa does not rule out the possibility that the actions of the TE represent an act of retaliation”, according to the report.
Aside from the above, there have been multiple frictions between the media community and the government of Juan Carlos Varela.
At the beginning of 2016, Panamanian journalist Alvaro Alvarado of the Telemetro channel, directly and publicly held President Varela, his Security Council as well as the Panamanian revenue service (DGI) responsible for orchestrating a smear campaign against him. “The reason for the attacks is to be found in his criticism of the current government”, argues to the SIP report.
Mr. Alvarado was the object of anonymous attacks in various social media. As a result, he made an official complaint to the Public Ministry, warning of "a smear campaign" against him. He went as far as publicly demanding of President Varela that he stop all such attempts aimed at "silencing him as well as political commentator Jose Isabel Blandon through the horror movie being set up, respecting instead freedom of expression", the report reads.
On February 17, Mr. Blandon went on record holding executives at TV channel TVN responsible for orchestrating the campaign. The owner of TVN is none less than Stanley Motta, who was President
Varela’s principal campaign donor. Since the scandal broke out, Mr. Blandon has not reappeared on the RPC and Telemetro channels.
And in yet another example of the current administration's disregard for freedom of expression, TV channel NexTV was kept away from a national TV campaign. Ironically, the purpose of the campaign was to fight discrimination. “It is paradoxical that a campaign against discrimination should discriminate against journalists for the editorial line they hold”, the report reads.
In a similar act of disregard for freedom of expression, current Panamanian ambassador to Rome, Fernando Berguido, refused to answer questions regarding a friendly agreement that the Panamanian government had reached with Italian defense equipment provider Finmeccanica: “I only give declarations to serious media outlets”, was Mr. Berguido’s excuse.
