Argentina: Javier Milei’s first year as president marked by a sharp decline in press freedom
Ever since taking office as president in December 2023, Javier Milei has vilified journalists and treated them as enemies. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is sounding the alarm about the decline in press freedom in Argentina and calls on the government to respect critical journalism and guarantee the right to diverse sources of information.
Milei's first year in office has been marked by countless daily insults and attacks on journalists and the media. The president has subjected them to direct, unfounded accusations, and has distorted facts and data. He has waged this offensive on social media and in interviews, with the support of other government officials and civil servants.
According to the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA), at least 52 cases of stigmatising rhetoric, ranging from verbal attacks and intimidation to harassment in public spaces and online, have been recorded in 2024. RSF recorded at least 12 physical attacks on journalists in 2024 – some of them perpetrated by the police – after security minister Patricia Bullrich implemented a security protocol designed to control and limit public protests.
“RSF has been on high alert due to the increased threats to journalism in Argentina since Javier Milei’s inauguration as president. In addition to extremely aggressive and unacceptable rhetoric, the president and other authorities have pursued a policy of encouraging media concentration and limiting pluralism and diversity, which has above all affected the most vulnerable media. This combination of hostile rhetoric, physical violence, and judicial and digital harassment speaks to a profound deterioration in press freedom. These attacks must stop, and the government must respect and safeguard the practice of journalism in Argentina.
A dark year for the Argentine press
Argentina is far from being one of the world’s most violent countries for journalists, but the environment for journalism has worsened over the past year, according to RSF's World Press Freedom Index. Milei's constant verbal attacks are the most visible aspect of this hostile environment, but they are only a fraction of what is happening throughout the country.
In December 2023, Milei's administration announced a revision of the 2009 law on broadcast media, a law designed to end monopolies in this sector. His government has removed the limit on the number of radio, terrestrial TV and cable network licences that can be held by a single owner. This step backwards opens the door to further media concentration, which usually benefits large corporations combining telecoms and Internet provision.
In 2024, the government also set about dismantling public media and directly intervened in their management. The closure on 4 March of the state news agency Télam, one of the oldest in Latin America, has been one of the cruellest blows to journalism in Argentina in recent years. State-owned Radio Nacional and Canal 7 TV have also suffered layoffs, and their budgets and programming have been decimated. The Encuentro and Paka-Paka TV channels have been subjected to even more drastic cuts.
Pluralism in the media ecosystem has also been considerably restricted by depriving independent and small media outlets of all subsidies.
Restricted public information
Decree 780/2024, issued on 3 September, has considerably restricted access to public information by expanding the exceptions under which the government can refrain from disseminating information and by requiring those requesting official information to register and identify themselves – a subtle form of intimidation.
Judicial decisions that threaten press freedom and criminalise journalism have also been taken during the past year. On 25 April, the Supreme Court ordered the newspaper Página 12 to change the headline of an article in the public interest about a parliamentarian’s alleged links with torturers during the military dictatorship.
Several media organisations condemned many of these measures on 17 June, including the harassment and reorganisation of the public broadcast media and the suspension of competitive licence allocation.
Argentina ranks 66th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
