online with your attitudes and with the speech that he handled in front of the media in his first year in office, President Pedro Castillo criticized the press during his Thursday’s presentation to Congress.
These accusations were rejected by representatives of journalistic associations consulted by El Comercio, who warned of an attempt to position the press as their main adversary and to hold it responsible. for his investigations in the Public Ministry.
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Pedro Castillo described as “fake news” the accusations linked to the cases of alleged corruption for which he and his entourage are investigated. This, despite the fact that in the inquiries reported by the press, the accusations come from people who were in their environment, such as his former secretary Bruno Pacheco y his former minister Mariano Gonzálezor businessmen who visited the Government Palace, as Zamir Villaverde and Karelim López; as well as the thesis of tax investigations.
“The media, determined to destabilize the government, are not interested in spreading the achievements. Only lies and false news about Pedro Castillo are broadcast, […] accused of corruption without any evidence. They are going to get tired of looking for evidence because they are not going to find it,” said the president.
Also accused the press of misinforming and not reporting what he considers to be the achievements of his management. “It does not matter that those who should also inform, have hidden and ignore our achievements and dedicate themselves to defame and lie, accusing us without any proof. […] The media, for the most part, have made sure that we remain uninformed. Is information on economic growth spread?” he said.
Rejection
Adriana León, director of the Information Freedoms area of the Press and Society Institute (IPYS), linked this attack by the president to an attempt to minimize his investigations in the prosecution. In addition, she pointed out that the president demands from the press a role that does not correspond to him, something that the authorities usually incur.
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“The role of the press is to monitor public management. It will be the citizens who decide, say or vote as they want. It is not the role of the press to highlight the achievements of a president or an official, that is why communication offices exist,” he commented.
The consequence, he pointed out, is that if the authority does not like how a medium reports, it puts obstacles in its work. “What is worrying, too, is this systematic discourse that the press is orchestrating lies because it has an interest. It is a mechanism of attempted violation of freedom of expression […] a stigmatizing speech that harms the reporter,” he warned.
In a statement, the National Association of Journalists (ANP) remarked that the job of the press is to investigate and document the complaints against officials, and that “it does democracy a disservice that a message to the Nation includes the story of that ‘the media only tell lies’”. Along the same lines, the Association of Journalists of Lima manifested itself.
Zuliana Lainez, president of the ANP, questioned whether the president wants to “set the tone for journalism on what it has to report and what not, and that it holds it responsible for the investigations.”
“Energetically dedicate a good part of the address [por 28 de julio] it hurts the press. Journalism has to continue doing its job, with rigor and adherence to the truth”, he declared.
Lainez also pointed out that if he wants to talk about his achievements, Castillo should – as the main spokesman for his government – give interviews to the media.