Criticism of Rafael Correa
Rafael Correa, the current president of Ecaudor is a vocal critic of neoliberalism and Western foreign policy, and thus the frequenttarget of criticism by domestic and foreign media.
Relationship with the Press
Correa has stated that the Ecuadorian press is "a group of wild beasts" "...mediocre, incompetent, inaccurate, lying and is a part of the structure of corruption and accomplice of the national disaster." He has regularly insisted in such critical line. On May 19, during a press conference called by Correa to talk AbOUT freedom of speech, he ordered that security eject the opinion editor of the Guayaquil based El Universo newspaper, whom he had invited to the event. Video
Correa declared that he would have no doubt in revoking the license to "coup instigating" television stations following the example of Hugo Chavez when he took RCTV off the air.
Lawsuit against the La Hora newspaper
On 10 May 2007 Correa filed a lawsuit against Francisco Vivanco Riofrío, president of the board of directors of the Quito-based La Hora newspaper, over an editorial published in the paper on March 9. The editorial, titled “Official Vandalism,” said that Correa intended to rule Ecuador “with turmoil, rocks and sticks.” The daily’s piece described the president’s behavior as “shameful.”
Correa's suit is based on Article 230 of the country’s penal code that sets prison penalties of up to two years for contempt, expressed in “threats or libel that would offend the president.”
Francisco Vivanco Riofrío has declared that he will not apologize for the editorial and that he is prepared to face the lawsuit. He has also declared that "that editorial reflects our thoughts and we will defend not only our right to manifest our opinions but also the opinions of all citizens, as we have done during the 25 years of our newspaper existence.”
Reactions to the lawsuit
In connection with Correa's complaint against La Hora, the Ecuadorian Association of Newspaper Publishers (AEDEP), has shown its support for that newspaper and declared that "no contemporary Ecuadorian politician has employed such legal figure (contempt) as an instrument to frighten the press."
- The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has declared that it is "a clumsy step on the part of the Ecuadorean president to file a criminal charge against a news outlet, accusing it of contempt, an archaic concept in a modern democracy and outmoded in Latin America and which should be eliminated from penal codes, as the IAPA has been insisting."
- The Committee to Protect Journalists has also protested against Correa's lawsuit: “Fear of criminal penalties will inhibit the Ecuadoran press in reporting and commenting on issues of public interest. We call on President Correa to drop the libel suit against Vivanco and repeal defamation laws that contradict international standards on freedom of expression.”
- The World Press Freedom Committee has declared that "it is clear that this attempt to silence the Ecuadorian press goes against very basic freedom of the press tenets, as consagrated in at least two of the most important international human right charts."