Persio Maldonado calls on the press and society to remain vigilant in defense of democracy

Punta Cana.- At the conclusion of the 81st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), held over four days at The Westin hotel in Punta Cana, the president of the Dominican Society of Newspapers, Persio Maldonado, urged media professionals and civil society in general to remain vigilant and work for a better country. "Perhaps the Dominican Republic is the country that comes out with the best balances in this region, and we should celebrate that; celebrate for the case of the Dominican Republic, but also regret that more nations are not in situations that one can celebrate," said the director of the newspaper El Nuevo Diario. Despite the progress the country is making in terms of freedom of expression, Maldonado reiterated that, in this area and in journalistic practice, "this is an endless struggle."


“That is to say, no one can take for granted that there is nothing more to be done,” he pointed out.

"Therefore, we must be vigilant, because I always say that the relationship between the press and power is not always very pleasant," he added.

The president of the Dominican Society of Newspapers highlighted that the extensive debates and discussions generated in the General Assembly of the SIP - of which he headed the local organizing team - allow the journalistic world to have greater clarity about what is happening on the planet.

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After extensive workdays, presentations, and conferences, the SIP warned in its conclusions about the deterioration of press freedom on the continent, in a context of growing hostility towards journalism driven by official discourses. Murders, imprisonments, exiles, and judicial harassment against journalists were also reported, as well as economic sanctions and acts of censorship in several countries in the region. Despite this adverse panorama, positive signs were highlighted, such as judicial rulings in Costa Rica that reinforce the right to information and free criticism, and a historic sentence in Colombia that recognizes crimes against journalists as attacks on democracy. One of the topics that concentrated a large part of the debates was the impact of artificial intelligence on newsrooms and the challenges that this technology represents for the practice of journalism.