An inconsistent right wing

Is freedom of expression under a threat?

To judge by the avalanche of news, reflections, and paid announcements inside the national press during the last few days, it could be said that the country is at the verge of a catastrophe of great proportions as far as the freedom of expression issue is concerned. Is the decision made by a certain sector about closing its ranks to defend the allegedly attacked reporters an act that should get the people’s applause? One of these news media said that the Communists would be about to begin with their macabre plan, that is to silence the members of the independent press. However, are they telling the whole truth about the situation of the press in the country? Are the independent journalists actually under a threat? Is it appropriate to tell people to pay more attention to the quality of the information offered by some of the news media?

The origin of the scandal
The news media do not usually hide their preference for ARENA, while the FMLN criticizes the media for their clearly biased behavior. Before the discrepancies of the last week took place, the FMLN addressed a letter to the people responsible for these news media, and told them that they had decided not to give them any interviews or offer any kind of statements to their reporters due to the irresponsibility and the fanaticism they handle the information with, and how this usually affects their party.

The declarations made by Schafik Handal on last Thursday, February 19th, have to be placed inside this context of tensions. In a meeting with former members of the guerrilla who participated in the civil war, the presidential candidate for the FMLN declared that the owners of the Salvadoran Tele-Corporation (TCS, in Spanish) are corrupt people because they are part of the defamation campaign that ARENA has launched against his party. Handal said that “we are only thirty days away from the elections. We really have to make a good effort. We hope to gain the votes of more people for March 21st. We have to defeat both ARENA and that rabble I have told you about. TCS is the trash of the news media in El Salvador. (They are) liars supporting a government that lies. (They are) corrupt people supporting a corrupt government, because corruption not only has to do with stealing money. There is also moral corruption, which is the worst kind of corruption. I know that after I finish saying this they are going to bellow. Let them bellow, let them squeal, let them have a tantrum”.

The reporters of these news media were reproached by the candidate of the FMLN for participating in the dirty game designed by their employers. He reminded them of their moral obligation with the truth and the professionalism that their career demands. “Some journalists participate (in these dirty campaigns), just like one in particular that I see in TCS –said Handal-. The TCS is the trash of the communication media in El Salvador. For me it is unexplainable how some young people who have studied this profession can participate to throw garbage and mud at others. They did not have to go to school to do that. They took the opportunities away from those young people that do want to study, but they dedicate themselves to throw mud at others and that is not a profession. They say that they do it because they receive a paycheck. Does that mean that just because of that paycheck they can even commit crimes?; that is not fair, that is not ethical”.

After the declarations made by Handal, a sector of the media has launched a serious attack against the candidate from the FMLN. In the opinion of those responsible for the TCS, the declarations made by Handal go against “the freedom of the press and against the freedom of information, and we have the right to get information both as a news media and as a group of citizens”. They also make the candidate responsible for any physical aggression against the journalists, because their lives have been put in danger because of the declarations made by him. “The harassment against the media –said one of those who criticized the FMLN- is part of the intolerance and the persecution against anything that might not be according to their games (…). To control the media, ether by threats or aggressions, is the way in which, if unfortunately they were to win the elections, they will also control the people”.

Regardless of how violent the answer of these news media has been in response to the words of the FMLN, it is necessary to notice the little influence of their denunciations on the rest of the news media. The argument between the candidate of the FMLN and the reporters of the TCS has been present in the rest of the news media as the dispute of a couple of adversaries that are not really related with them. That is why it would not be so accurate to talk about a threat or about a deliberated project planned by the left wing to undermine the independence of the communicators.

Media trash?
Because of the former observations, it would be convenient to examine the true meaning of the argument between the FMLN and the reporters from the right wing, the possible repercussions over the future relationship between politics and the mass media. The pulse that keeps this party with the media that sympathizes with ARENA does not contribute to enhance neither the respect nor the tolerance culture among the different sectors that are part of the Salvadoran society. The declarations made by the candidate of the FMLN were inappropriate and they were disrespectful comments against the reporters that were covering his meeting.

It was an abominable discourse that shows once more the incapacity of the leader from the FMLN to keep himself behind the line sketched by his advisors at the beginning of the electoral campaign. Despite his legitimate right to defend himself from a group of disloyal adversaries that use their news media to promote low blows, the candidate of the FMLN sinned twice as much. On the one hand, he offered a weak spot of his personality to his adversaries so that they can keep using their propaganda about the disaster that might come upon the country. On the other hand, someone has to remind the candidate from the FMLN that such words were not convenient for a person who aspires to become President. Handal has every right to sustain his own opinion about the behavior of several news media and the way they use their information, but he does not resolve the problem descending to the same level of those journalists. The politician from the FMLN might propose some regulations for the treatment of the information –even if some journalists hate this word- in the country, as long as they keep attacking the dignity of the people. However, under no circumstance, a person who aspires to become president should be part of this sort of public disputes.

The censorship against the declarations made by Handal is no obstacle to reflect about the abusive way in which those media use information. It should not seem odd if the newspapers use spectacular and fallacious headlines to assure that a rapist, a swindler, or a murder has been arrested without offering the smallest evidence of what they are saying. That is how the honor of the citizens is continuously sullied by incompetent reporters that violate such an elemental principle: the presumption of innocence.

The saddest aspect of the behavior of the reporters is the deliberated service that they render to that sector that holds the political and the economic power of the country. Through the use of biased information they usually put together the most hideous campaigns against those sectors that do not have the same interests as those who are close to the news media. They seem to believe that it is impossible to accept anything that might not reflect their same interests. At the same time, there is a passive attitude before certain powers connected with the business elite. They speak about the freedom of the press to sustain any kind of attacks against those who do not follow the same ideas of the economic elite.

This pernicious and this sectarian way of presenting the national reality is not only reflected in the opinion articles. The same language is used to write the news. They called themselves “the honest Salvadorans”, the good ones facing the bad ones who defend the opposite opinions, those who are the targets of the insults just because they do not agree with the official opinion or because they think that there are different options to understand and resolve the problems. The reporters who work for this kind of news media identify themselves with the opinion of their employers, at the time that they use the information to enhance the thesis defended by their bosses.

The most important question that remains unanswered is how can we end with this situation? The best decision would be to encourage the reporters to critically reflect about the difficulties connected with their profession, and identify what is the best way to improve their professional skills and how to fulfill their ethical responsibilities as a group. However, the only association of journalists in the country has not gained much importance, and this shortcoming can be combined with the growing influence that the press that follows the line of the right wing has. This makes it almost impossible to walk over this path. In addition, the general perception is that most of the reporters and journalists feel comfortable with their role as defenders of the status quo, assigned to them by these companies. Many of them keep thinking that their interests match exactly with those of the owners of the most important news media enterprises.

Another aspect of this whole matter is the reaction of the population, whose good faith has been mocked by the media and the irresponsible reporters. No instant solutions can be expected to appear in this area. There is a lack of both political culture and sense of responsibility. In addition, even if the citizenry criticized the performance of the media, the relationship between the latter and the business elite grants their income through advertising. That is why the solution has to do with politics. It is necessary to have a law made to regulate the performance of the media. They should enjoy a environment of complete freedom to have access to the necessary information in order to keep the Salvadorans informed. However, the defamation issue has to be discussed in order to avoid the unpleasant situation that the country is facing at this stage of the campaign.

Are these the new recipes from the World’s Bank?

Last week a meeting took place in San Salvador, and it was aimed to promote the kind of opportunities that the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) might create for the countries of the region. The representatives of the World’s Bank attended to the event, and they discussed a series of issues that are relevant for a free trade agreement able to create the conditions for the development of the region’s economy. There were also several business men willing to listen to the general dispositions of the institution for the governments of each country.

For the experts of the World’s Bank, Central America has to make an intense effort in order to take advantage of the commercial openness that might be created by a free trade agreement with the United States. They explained that even if this agreement could be an opportunity for the countries’ development, they also said that if the people are not prepared to take an adequate advantage of it, they might actually end up putting some obstacles along the way. Contrary to what the official campaign has advertised, the World’s Bank admits that free trade will not automatically bring development for all. A reality check might bring to the people’s attention the fact that there is a sector among the business groups that will be affected by free trade, and that is why it is necessary that the Central American governments are capable to develop a set of public policies aimed to become the palliatives for the most vulnerable sectors of their societies and their economies.

According to the economists of the World’s Bank, in order to take maximum advantage of the free trade agreement with the United States, it is necessary to consider four important guidelines: to increase the level of education, to strengthen the macroeconomic stability, to develop an institutional reform, and to strengthen the regional integration. For this international institution, these measures could generate a good number of benefits in the medium and in the long term. However, they also admit that the implementation of the free trade agreement will not be an easy task for the countries of the area, especially for El Salvador, due to the present economic conjunction.

The recipes of the World’s Bank
The World’s Bank is an international institution that has traditionally promoted the economic interests of the United States. In that sense, it should not seem odd if the delegates of this organization promote the decisions of the North American businessmen, the most influential group in the world. It is necessary to say that since the late nineties, this organization has shown more of a serious interest for the economic problems of the less developed countries. This is how the World’s Bank has realized, although just partially, that many of the policies implemented in the frame of the Structural Adjustment Programs did not worked out quite as expected. Presently, the World’s Bank will take the risk to say that the paradigm of the free trade is the panacea for the lack of development in the Latin American countries. However, this organization now includes an interesting element that was not considered in the past when it came to formulate the international economic policy: the institutional dimension of economy.

Even with all that new emphasis made by the World’s Bank, it is necessary to realize that what they are proposing to the Central American countries is nothing new, just as Norman Garcia, an official from the Honduran government, mentioned by the end of the meeting. Some time ago, several experts on the economic issues have talked about how serious it is to count with a population that has such a low level of education. In most of the cases, this problem creates an economic sector with a very low income. The macroeconomic stability issue, which was also discussed at the meeting, seems to be one of the weakest spots of the present government of El Salvador. The reforms of the institutions, and the support to the regional integration process emerge as the new elements of the policy created by the World’s Bank. Nevertheless, in the case of the latter, it is questionable to think about an economic regional integration process in the short term in order to take advantage of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

The particular problem of El Salvador
In the specific case of El Salvador, it seems evident that to carry on with the guidelines imposed by the World’s Bank will not be an easy task for the government. Why is the present government insisting on getting a free trade agreement with the United States if the country does not meet the minimum requirements to take proper advantage of it? In other words, why is the government talking about success and development when the country does not meet many of the basic requirements to take advantage of the agreement? As far as the representatives of the World’s Bank are concerned they were very clear about the subjects discussed, and they admitted that El Salvador still has to do many things in order to face the free trade agreement. The possibilities that the government has to implement certain changes are not too many.

The situation of the enormous efforts that the future government has to make in order to increase the quality and the coverage of education and other important social benefits is quite complicated if we consider the fiscal deficit. Therefore, the levels of social investment that must be considered in order to improve the conditions in which people live are not compatible with the country’s macroeconomic stability. One of the solutions proposed by the World’s Bank is to increase the revenue in order to face the needs of the society. However, how can the taxes be raised when demand is on a crisis? How to avoid the economic stagnation? How can the social investment be compatible with the fiscal stability? These are several of the unsolved problems that the country has. It is important to remember that the public policies of the country are basically limited because the fiscal deficit that has increased during the present administration.

Everything seems to indicate that the economic project created by the official party is about to crumble. The government is already at the limit of the fiscal crisis, and it still has to make a serious effort to invest more on the national development, just as the World’s Bank proposes. That is, if the government intends to take full advantage of the free trade agreement with the United States. In addition, dollarization did not create the macroeconomic stability that the government promised. The solution to both problems is crucial for the materialization of a free trade agreement with the United States, and therefore the question is: where is the coherence of the economic policy of the ARENA administrations?

It is necessary to consider that, at a first glance, the sustainability of the prevailing economic policy is in question. Now more than ever, the margins of operation that the Salvadoran government has are very narrow, an the situation will get even more critical when the free trade agreement with the United States becomes a reality, since just like the Minister of Economy of El Salvador indicated, the agreement will create “a fragmentation of the economic policy”.