Showdown looms between Argentina's Kirchner and her biggest media critic
| Buenos Aires
President Cristina Fern谩ndez de Kirchner鈥檚 battle with the press is set to intensify this week as Argentina implements a polemic media law that her administration says encourages a plurality of voices and that opponents call an assault on free speech and democracy.
The country鈥檚 biggest media conglomerate,聽Grupo Clar铆n, has until Friday to tell the government how it will divest itself of assets under a 2009 antimonopoly ruling.
Clar铆n, once an ally of President Kirchner and her late husband and predecessor, N茅stor, is now openly opposed to the government. The group owns Argentina鈥檚 best-selling newspaper, and controls 59 and 42 percent of the cable TV and radio markets, respectively, according to AFSCA, the body enforcing the law.
The government says the other 20 media companies required to divest are complying with the law, but Clar铆n, the group most affected, argues it is being deliberately targeted as Kirchner seeks to suppress criticism of her administration. It also claims the law is unconstitutional, something the judiciary has yet to rule on.
This Friday鈥檚 deadline falls days before the anniversary of Argentina鈥檚 1983 return to democracy after a seven-year dictatorship. As the country prepares to celebrate, some fear the media law could lead to a deficit of independent reporting: Clar铆n is one of the few news organizations not reliant on the government via advertising subsidies.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no freedom of expression without an independent press,鈥� said聽H茅ctor Magnetto, Clar铆n鈥檚 CEO. 鈥淚f one is weakened, both could be at risk.鈥�
鈥楻ight to be heard鈥�
This isn鈥檛 the first time Clar铆n and a president have clashed. Numerous bills to regulate the media were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, but Clar铆n always played a part in blocking their approval, says Glenn Postolksi, who helped draw up the guidelines on which the current law is based.
Passed in 2009, the legislation supersedes a law from the dictatorship, and is designed to increase the range of voices in TV and radio. No one media group can control more than 35 percent of the market, while not-for-profit organizations will see their share increased to around a third.
鈥淲e also have the right to be heard,鈥� says Armando Kispe, a presenter at Radio Pachakuti, a station founded last year for the indigenous communities of Jujuy in northern Argentina. 鈥淚t would have been very difficult to have established the radio without the law,鈥� Mr. Kispe says, noting it does not rely on public advertising.
A government publicity campaign hails Dec. 7 as a victory for 鈥渄emocracy, diversity, and liberty.鈥� And many Argentines see the media law as an important tool to widen freedom of expression.
鈥淎 lot of people here are prisoners of a singular voice,鈥� says Walter Rodas, a retiree from the northern Chaco Province, referring to Clar铆n鈥檚 majority share of the media market. 鈥淏ut now we鈥檒l have true diversity 鈥� and that鈥檚 for the good of society.鈥�
Critics, though, see the law as less about moving toward democratization of the media and more a blatant attempt to stultify and silence聽the administration鈥檚 adversary, Clar铆n.
鈥淐lar铆n will be hugely affected economically,鈥� says former federal communications secretary Henoch Aguiar, who predicts the group stands to lose an initial $1 billion from reduced subscriptions.
Clar铆n is required to sell the majority of its cable broadcasting licenses. The group has 237 in cities and towns across Argentina, according to AFSCA, but is allowed just 24 under the law. It will also have to sell eight of the nine cable television channels the government says it owns.
History of friendship鈥nd rivalry
Clar铆n and the Kirchners have not always knocked heads. N茅stor Kirchner, who was close to Mr. Magnetto, renewed the group鈥檚 broadcast licenses for 10 years in 2005 and later approved its acquisition of cable company 颁补产濒别惫颈蝉颈贸苍. But relations collapsed in 2008 when Clar铆n backed farmers in a row over export taxes.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 up Clar铆n, why are you so nervous?鈥� Mr. Kirchner asked in a now famous speech, made in 2009, during which he accused the group of 鈥渕isinforming鈥� Argentines.
Today, President Kirchner and her ministers regularly accuse Clar铆n of lying and crafting a 鈥渄istorted鈥� view of Argentina to destabilize her administration. On a recent mission to Vietnam Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno travelled with balloons reading 鈥淐lar铆n lies,鈥� a slogan also brandished on a banner hanging from the building of the government statistics agency, itself accused of fudging inflation data.
The government has said the protagonists of recent social unrest, including a mass protest against Kirchner and a general strike last month, are either influenced by, or allied with, Clar铆n.
Many here echo that view. 鈥淐lar铆n is trying to put the government on the rack,鈥� says analyst Leandro Bullor. 鈥淸The group] is a political actor 鈥� going blow for blow in the ring [with the government],鈥� said Horacio Verbitsky, a prominent journalist.
Mart铆n聽Etchevers, Clar铆n鈥檚 spokesman, insists聽its outlets are dedicated to rigorous journalism, which includes holding the government to account over alleged corruption and distorted statistics.
Andr茅s D鈥橝lessandro, executive director of the Argentine Journalism Forum,聽says Clar铆n鈥檚 journalists have taken on an investigative role to which other outlets 鈥� for example P谩gina/12, a newspaper that receives substantial government advertising 鈥� were once dedicated before 2008.
The Kirchner administration鈥檚 advertising budget in 2011 was a little less than $400 million, up from $10 million in 2003. Around a third of it was spent on publicity during soccer matches transmitted on state TV, and recent spots have demonized Clar铆n. The rights to show games were bought by the government in 2009 after the Argentine Soccer Association broke its contract with a Clar铆n-controlled sports broadcaster.
Three years
It has taken three years to enforce the law because of an injunction taken out by Clar铆n that expires on Dec. 7. But the legal battle continues with the group refusing to recognize the deadline.
Mart铆n Sabbatella, president of AFSCA, said the government will intervene and auction off Clar铆n鈥檚 licenses if the group does not present a plan to sell them off by midnight on Friday. 鈥淭he law is the law,鈥� he said. 鈥淣obody is above it.鈥澛�
Mr.聽D鈥橝lessandro says聽there is a risk the government will not be objective when it oversees the redistribution of licenses. He fears it could apply the same聽鈥渇riend or enemy鈥澛燾riteria seen in the handing out of public advertising.聽鈥淭hat could lead to a [limting of] freedom of expression,鈥� he says.
Clar铆n has also contested the law鈥檚 constitutionality, saying its private-property rights are being violated: The only way the government can confiscate licenses is by expropriating them, explains constitutional lawyer聽Andr茅s Gil Dom铆nguez.
Divisive policies聽
The disagreement over the law is the latest issue to divide Argentines. Kirchner鈥檚 policies of economic protectionism, extensive welfare plans for the poor, and a recent law lowering the voting age to 16 have all split opinion.
Some observers say they see a movement toward similar clashes with the press as in Venezuela and Ecuador.
鈥淎rgentina is running the risk of turning into a competitive authoritarianism,鈥� says Sergio Berensztein, an analyst at the Poliarqu铆a consultancy, referring to a political model in which there are free and fair elections but violations of other democratic processes.
Kirchner, who was reelected with 54 percent of the vote last year, has concentrated power in the executive while her administration is accused of trampling on the judiciary聽in the build-up to Dec. 7. It has forced聽the resignation of judges, alleged to favor Clar铆n, and today ordered the recusal of those deciding whether to extend the group鈥檚聽injunction.
鈥淥n Dec. 7 we say 鈥榚nough鈥� to the impunity of monopolies,鈥� reads one of the thousands of posters plastered throughout Buenos Aires. 鈥淕oodbye Clar铆n,鈥� it signs off.
