EL Salvador
One of the least economically wealthy countries in Latin America — El Salvador has scored 74 out of 180 for its 2020 ranking on the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) created by Reporters without Borders (RSF); meaning its journalist have a somewhat middle ground on their journalistic freedom. Over the last five years, El Salvador has climbed up the list made by WPFI, and the journalist freedom in the country has dropped significantly.
Since the start of the new year 2021, the status of the country has changed from “Free” to “Significantly free” according to Freedom House (FH), an American non-governmental and nonprofit organization, based in the United States which roots for democracy and political freedom, publishes The Freedom in the World yearly report, which ranks countries based on the degrees of their political freedom, rights, and civil liberties. The country scored 66 out of 100.
The status of El Salvador has declined with one place from last year because of the was movements of criminal organizations within its borders, who continue to commit acts of violence and to theorize the journalist and the citizens of the country. According to RSF in February 2019, authorities tried to intimidate a team of investigative reporters for Factum, an online-based magazine hoping to get them to reveal vital information on the sources they used in writing a story jeopardizing the government.
Nayib Bukele, the new president, who stepped into the office in June 2019, often states her concerns for the media, shared her list of journalists who he accused of being “political opponents acting in a Manichaean fashion with the intention of destabilizing the government.”
Another nonprofit independent organization The Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) published in its report that since 1992 only 3 journalists have been killed In the country, but the big number of gang groups have allowed for a big number of corruption within the press in El Salvador.
On July 2, 2020, according to CPJ, the journalist Julia Gavarrete’s laptop was stolen from her home by an unidentified individual. Gavarrete, who is a reporter for the independent news website Gato Encerrado, stated in her interview with CPJ that she returned home at about 6:30 p.m. after covering a press conference at the Presidential House and found the door to her bedroom open and her laptop and several personal items missing.
“I have worked on issues that are inconvenient for the current government, and I have made several requests for public information that they have not responded to. I feel like it’s a threat,” the journalist told CPJ.
CPJ tried to contact the Salvadoran police by text message and got a response that information on the case should be requested through the police Public Information Unit. CPJ emailed that unit for comment but did not receive any further reply. The situation in the country is being drastically worsened by the government and the lack of public police is not helping for its an improvement.
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Zheliana Borisova is studying Journalism and Business Administration at the American University in Bulgaria. She’s passionate about advocating media freedom and wants to pursue a career in war journalism.
