Spanish
On the second day of the 81st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the panel titled “Anatomy of Authoritarian Advance: Handbook of Tactics and Their Effect on the Media” was held, in which the strategies of authoritarian regimes to weaken press freedom in the region were presented.
Moderated by Martha Ramos, director of the Mexican Editorial Organization (OEM) and president of the Press Freedom and Information Commission of the SIP, the forum featured the participation of Pedro Vaca Villareal, special rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR; Andrés Mompotes, director of El Tiempo (Colombia); and Daniel Dessein, president of La Gaceta de Tucumán (Argentina).
The Anatomy of Authoritarianism
Pedro Vaca opened the debate with a powerful image: “The anatomy of authoritarianism is like a monster with many sections, which manifests itself differently in each country”. He pointed out that states are deliberately failing in their obligations of respect and guarantee towards freedom of expression, and that impunity for murders and threats against journalists has become a constant.
"Some leaders even capitalize on violence against the press as part of their propaganda," he denounced.
Vaca also warned about the use of state tools, such as inspections, records, frequencies, and taxation, to reward friendly media and punish critics. "The concentration of power and social tolerance towards it are the perfect breeding ground for authoritarianism," he stated.
The Argentinian case: between Kirchnerism and Milei
Daniel Dessein drew a parallel between the governments of Cristina Kirchner and Javier Milei in Argentina, because although the current Argentine president presents himself as the "antidote" to Kirchnerism, "he uses the same discursive tools to attack the press." Dessein warned that Milei has reached rhetorical extremes that even Kirchner did not reach, such as his phrase "we don't hate journalists enough," which circulates on social media as a slogan.
Although judicial measures against the press have not yet been specified, Dessein warned about the latent risk: “If Milei reaches levels of power similar to those Kirchner had, we don't know how far he can go”.
"The authoritarian strategy seeks to anesthetize democracies with hate speech that is normalized," he explained. In Colombia, the media has begun to document each verbal aggression from power, as a form of resistance.
Information blockade and disinformation: new weapons of power
The forum also addressed the growing information blockade, from the disappearance of transparency bodies to prior censorship. Vaca mentioned that in countries like El Salvador, resolutions denying access to information outweigh those that allow it, turning opacity into the norm.
Misinformation was another central axis. Dessein recounted how a fake video about Mauricio Macri, released on election day in Buenos Aires, reached 14 million views, with a possible impact on the results. "The justice system and journalism react late, while propaganda advances rapidly and with resources," he warned.
Journalism in Exile and Regional Hope
During the forum, the large number of journalists who have had to leave their countries due to authoritarian advances was highlighted. Pedro Vaca spoke of El Salvador, from where this year there has been a significant exodus of journalists due to persecution by the Nayib Bukele government. For cases like El Salvador and Nicaragua, good journalism continues to be done, but "from outside", as Martha Ramos noted.
In his concluding remarks, Vaca called for strengthening regional alliances between media outlets to confront authoritarian advances. "Stigmatization has real effects: good journalism can be done, but if society doesn't believe in it, the damage is done," he said.
The conversation closed with an urgent call: to recognize the symptoms of authoritarianism, mobilize society, and defend journalism as a pillar of democracy.
