Join the Foro de Periodismo Argentino in calling on candidates for the Senate and the House of Representatives to uphold four basic concepts that make free expression possible in a democracy.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of a return to democracy in Argentina, and in advance of the 27 October elections, the Foro de Periodismo Argentino (FOPEA), along with more than 25 other professional and civil society organisations, has launched a campaign called #InfoenDemocracia (Info in Democracy).
The main objective of the campaign is to get all candidates for the Senate and the House of Representatives to promise to defend and uphold four basic concepts that make free expression and access to information possible in a democracy:
- Make news conferences with open agendas a standard practice in government at all levels
- Define rules and procedures to give the public and journalists access to official information
- Establish clear and fair standards for the distribution of public advertising to the news media
- Promote pluralism in state and private news media sectors
Argentines vote on 27 October to elect 127 members of congress and 24 senators. Both houses of Congress are currently controlled by President Cristina Kirchner’s party and its allies.
Leading figures from a broad range of parties, both national and from Argentina’s 23 provinces, have replied expressing support for the concepts, which are contained in a document entitled “Commitment to the Quality of Information in Democracy.”
José Cano, candidate to the House of Deputies for the Unión Cívica Radical party in the northwestern Tucuman province, said in a letter to FOPEA that he firmly embraced the concepts proposed by the organisation.
FOPEA is now calling on the public to add their voices to this call for election candidates to uphold free expression and access to information in Argentina.
“We want you to help us improve the conditions in which journalists carry out their work. We want your help to improve the quality of information, so it can be used to make decisions in a democracy. We want you to assert your legal right to be informed and to express yourself,” says FOPEA.
From early October the campaign has been promoted on the website infoendemocracia.com.ar, where FOPEA is encouraging the public to lend their support for a free press and better access to information.
