Controversies between Clarín and Kirchnerism

President-elect Cristina Kirchner celebrates election night with her husband and predecessor, Néstor.

The Argentine media corporation Grupo Clarín ^{[N 1]} and the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner have been involved in a number of controversies since 2008. Kirchnerism (referring to the political philosophy and actions of Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina, 2003–2007, and of his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President from 2007) considers that Grupo Clarín (a corporation working on television, radio, newspapers, cable services, Internet companies, and broadcast of Football in Argentina) have a policy of monopolization, while the Clarín media conglomerate considers that the acts of the government run contrary to freedom of speech. The controversies led to a number of bills sent by the government to the Argentine National Congress. The confrontation also led to many media sources reporting misleading information as demonstrated by independent analyst Carlos Escudé when he evaluated how different media sources reported on Hillary Clinton's visit to Buenos Aires.^[1]

Before the Kirchners' takeover, Grupo Clarín had a strong influence over Argentine politics. The group received criticism from other media company owners and from politicians. In the 1980s, César Jaroslavsky, a politician from the UCR, said "Beware of that newspaper. It attacks as a political party, and if you answer, it defends itself with press freedom".^[2]

First conflicts

See also: 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector

The conflict started in 2008, during a period when the government was also in open confrontation with the agricultural sector. Grupo Clarín, led by CEO Héctor Magnetto, strongly supported the sector,^[3] and their newspapers published articles that were considered favorable to the "ruralists" or chacareros.^[4] The president reacted with strong criticism of the role of media, questioning whether freedom of speech "belonged to corporations or to ordinary citizens." The Government sent its "Resolution 125" for farm exports tax proposal to Congress which after a 18-hour Senate debate, was repealed in a tie vote broken by the Vice President Julio Cobos who voted against the executive branch resolution.^[5]

Nationalization of soccer broadcasting

The television broadcasting rights for all Argentine soccer^{[N 2]} league matches had been held by the Clarín Group cable channel TyC Sports since 1992. In August 2009, that contract was terminated by the Argentine Football Association and was given to the state channel Canal Siete.

Law about media

In October 2009, the Argentine National Congress approved "Law 26.522", known as the "Media Law" ^[6] but usually described as "Ley K" by the Grupo Clarín.^[7] The new law served to deregulate the television and radio industries which until then were still limited to the few channels created by "Law 22.285", decreed by the military dictatorship of the 1970s.^[8] A series of five judicial appeals prevented it from coming into force for almost a year. The Supreme Court ruled against one of those appeals,^[9] declaring that it created a precedent where "a single legislator(^{[N 3]}) could not challenge an act of Congress and nor did judges have the authority to stop the application of an entire law."^[10] Some sources consider the other appeals to still be in effect.^[10] Nonetheless, the government published the details of the new law after the last judicial decision.^[10]

Marcela and Felipe Noble Herrera

Main article: Noble brothers case

Marcela and Felipe Noble Herrera are adopted children of Ernestina Herrera de Noble, the owner of Clarín. It is suspected that they may be children of people forcedly removed during the Dirty War. They were receptive to initial testing to prove the matter definitively, but refused further interference from the government in the case, citing a violation of privacy. The President pledged to go "personally" to international courts to seek justice done if Argentine judges did not rule.^[11]

Cablevisión

In March 2010, TV cable network providers Cablevisión from Grupo Clarín and DirecTV intended to increase the rates, an action that the Argentine government appealed. Subsequently, in August 2010, a Federal Judge ^{[N 4]} supported the government decision and prevented the two companies from changing their rates.^[12]

Papel Prensa

Papel Prensa is the only Argentine producer of celullose, the main raw material for newspapers. The company is owned by the Argentine government and the newspapers Clarín and La Nación which bought it during the ¨military dictatorship of the 1970s and has since then controlled its management. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner accused them of having done so by illicit means and taking advantage of its use against other Argentine newspapers, presenting a report, Papel Prensa: The Truth, claiming that during the Dirty War, while being threatened, the Gravier brothers were forced to sell Papel Prensa at a bargain price.^[13][14] Soon after, Isidoro Gravier denied the charges saying that the sale of the company took place while his brothers were free, and that their detention was not related to Papel Prensa but with their link to the Montoneros guerrilla group ^[15] although he had made statements to the contrary one month earlier, and was therefore later accused of being manipulated by Clarín.^[16] The Nunca Más report, written in the 1980s by the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons, contains no information about the Graviers being forced to give away their property.^[17] Michael Soltys, editor of the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper declared: "Papel Prensa is an anachronistic holdover from the military dictatorship which should not continue any further into the 21st century. But not this way. It is not only that the government is at least as interested a party when it comes to controlling newsprint — if this control is established on such a mendacious basis, the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner administration is not so much seeking to own the truth as already the owner of the truth." ^[18] On same day of its announcement, the government sent the report to the National Congress and the Justice branches for further investigation.

Fibertel

Fibertel, a Broadband Internet access provider and part of the Clarín group, ^{[N 5]} had its licence revoked in August 2010 by the government arguing that Clarín itself dissolved Fibertel in January 2009 merging the company with Cablevisión which is the TV cable network provider and does not have a licence to provide Internet services by itself.^[19] The government gave a 90-day time limit to end operations and move current users to other providers. The case was taken to the courts to prevent Fibertel's closure, which would force 10% of the country's Internet users ^{[N 6]} to change to a new service provider or get disconnected.^[20]

A huge controversy arose in September 2010 when the Government's Secretary of Communications office published a list of 389 Internet providers that could potentially replace Fibertel. The list, however, was totally outdated and resulted in only 22 companies still operating and only two Telcos with nationwide coverage: Telefónica de Argentina and Telecom Argentina.^[21]

Ernesto Marinelli from Juzgado Nacional en lo Contencioso Administrativo Federal Nº 1, the National Judge who was to take the case, declared himself in a "conflict of interest", because he was a Fibertel user.^[22] At the same time, the different factions in the National Congress were divided on the issue. Pino Solanas of Proyecto Sur Party, for example, proposed that the country should have a new law to deregulate and promote all the communication services instead of regulating a single company.^[23]

Ayuí Grande Dam

In September 2010, the government appealed to the Supreme Court against the construction of the Ayuí Grande Dam in the Corrientes Province, a venture to flood 8,000 hectares, belonging to Grupo Clarín vice CEO, José Aranda and George Soros, in order to export rice.^[24] Their appeal claimed that the flooding will produce irreversible environmental damage and violates the Uruguay River Treaty with Uruguay.^[25] The project was unanimously rejected by the local community,^[26][27] and was also questioned by environmentalists, claiming that 55 km of river coast would disappear.^[28]

International notice

The disputes over Fibertel and Papel Prensa took place nearly at the same time, and generated strong reaction from the international media. El País from Uruguay highlighted the confrontation between government and the Grupo Clarín media concern.^[29]

Criticism of the Argentine government included an editorial by Mary Anastasia O'Grady from The Wall Street Journal who said that Kirchnerism is "...cracking down on the free press."^[30] Editorial comment from Spain's El País notes that Papel Prensa is still full of serious concerns that Kirchnerism is possibly using methods similar to those of dictatorships to keep its power.^[31]

Other voices echoed a different view, including editorial comments in El Tiempo from Colombia, declaring: "The government maintains that the company sells the paper to small newspapers at higher prices than those who buy Clarín and La Nación and considered these actions go against the freedom of expression." ^[32]

In August 2010, United States Department of State Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner declared that Barack Obama's administration is closely following the controversy and that concerns about press freedom are taken seriously.^[33]

References

Notes

1. ^ Grupo Clarín is commonly known as Clarín, although the name refers specifically to the Clarín newspaper, which is one of its holdings.
2. ^ Football or fútbol (Spanish), is known as soccer predominantly in non-English-speaking countries, a common shortened name of association soccer.
3. ^ The single legislator who acted in this case, was Enrique Thomas (Federal Peronism-Mendoza).
4. ^ The Federal Judge involved was Cámara de Apelaciones in the Contencioso Administrativo, Nº 3.
5. ^ Fibertel was an independent company 1997–2003 before its acquisition by Grupo Clarín in 2003.
6. ^ Fibertel is the third-largest ISP in Argentina with approximately 1,000,000 clients in 2010.

Citations

1. ^ "678_escudé analiza los diarios.avi." (Spanish) youtube.com, 16 April 2010. Retrieved: 2 September 2010.
2. ^ Flowers, Emiliano, Federico Vázquez and Emanuel Damoni. "Cuando la noticia es la política."(Spanish) Página/12 via pagina12.com.ar.. Retrieved: 19 September 2010
3. ^ "Magnetto: 'Nosotros nos pusimos al frente del conflicto y a partir de allí, el Gobierno decidió destruirnos.' (Spanish) perfil.com, 12 August 2008. Retrieved: 19 September 2010.
4. ^ Petras and Veltmeyer 2009, p. 90.
5. ^ Ybarra, Gustavo. "Tras una dramática sesión, el vicepresidente Cobos desempató la votación al rechazar el proyecto oficial de retenciones." (Spanish) la Nación Política via lanacion.com, 17 June 2008. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
6. ^ "Ley de Medios."(Spanish) leydemedios.com. Retrieved: 1 September 2010.
7. ^ "Ley 'K': apuran el dictamen." (Spanish) Retrieved: 1 September 2010.
8. ^ Reglamentan la ley de medios audiovisuales: El Gobierno publicó la nueva norma en el Boletín Oficial a pesar de los amparos presentados." (Spanish) minutouno.com, 1 September 2010. Retrieved: 1 September 2010.
9. ^ "La Corte rechazó un planteo contra la ley de medios y marcó límites a los jueces." (Spanish) la Nación Política via lanacion.com, 15 June 2010. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
10. ^ ^{a b c} "El Gobierno pretende hacer entrar en vigor la ley de medios pese a los frenos impuestos por la Justicia." (Spanish) la Nación Actualidad via lanacion.com, 15 June 2010. Retrieved: 1 September 2010.
11. ^ "Court rules in favour of Grandmothers." Buenos Aries Herald via buenosairesherald.com, 31 August 2010. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
12. ^ "La Justicia falla contra CableVisión por suba del abono a los clientes." (Spanish) minutouno.com. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
13. ^ "Papel Prensa: el Gobierno denunciará a Clarín y La Nación." (Spanish) elargentino.com, 30 August 2010. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
14. ^ "Cristina Kirchner atacó a Papel Prensa y acudirá a la Justicia para que investigue la operación de compra." (Spanish) la Nación Política via lanacion.com, 24 August 2010. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
15. ^ "Isidoro Graiver refuta a la Presidenta." (Spanish) lanacion.com.ar, 25 August 2010. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
16. ^ “Se demostró que fue pagado." (Spanish) tiempo.elargentino.com, 25 August 2010. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
17. ^ Ruiz Guiñazú, Magdalena. "Sin rastros del caso en el "Nunca Más." (Spanish) la Nación Política via lanacion.com, 25 August 2010. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
18. ^ Soltys. Michael. "Super Tuesday?" Buenos Aries Herald via buenosairesherald.com, 1 September 2010. Retrieved: 1 September 2010.
19. ^ Página/12, en cambio, explicó que “el argumento oficial es que el Grupo Clarín disolvió esa sociedad en enero de 2009 y desde entonces brinda el servicio de manera irregular a través de la firma Cablevisión, sin tener la autorización del organismo regulatorio”. (Spanish) tiempo.elargentino.com, 21 August 2010. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
20. ^ "Argentina." cia.gov. Retrieved: 30 August 2010.
21. ^ Crettaz, José. "No da Internet la mayoría de las alternativas oficiales a Fibertel." (Spanish) la Nación via lanacion.com, 7 September 2010. Retrieved: 7 September 2010.
22. ^ Un Juez Se Excusó en el Caso Fibertel Por Ser Abonado a la Empresa." (Spanish) abogados.com, 26 August 2010. Retrieved: 7 September 2010.
23. ^ Jorquera, Miguel. La oposición, separada por una red." (Spanish) pagina12.com, 7 September 2010. Retrieved: 7 September 2010.
24. ^ Fernández, Aníbal. "Disputa del gobierno con Clarín llega a una represa." (Spanish) rionegro.com.ar, 3 September 2010. Retrieved: 6 September 2010.
25. ^ Fernández, Aníbal. "Dique para frenar la inundación en Ayuí Grande." (Spanish) pagina12.com.ar, 3 September 2010. Retrieved: 6 September 2010.
26. ^ "Consejo de Monte Caseros rechaza proyecto Ayui Grande." (Spanish) momarandu.com, 27 August 2010. Retrieved: 6 September 2010.
27. ^ "Concejo Deliberante: unanimidad contra represa de Ayuí Grande." (Spanish) infoalternativa.com.ar, 6 September 2010. Retrieved: 6 September 2010.
28. ^ Magnotta, Fabian. "Preocupa a ambientalistas de Corrientes el proyecto arrocero en Ayui." (Spanish) maximaonline.com.ar, 6 September 2010. Retrieved: 6 September 2010.
29. ^ "Medios denuncian embestida del gobierno 'k' y falta de libertades." (Spanish) El País Digital. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
30. ^ O'Grady, Mary Anastasia. "Argentina's Kirchner Targets the Press." The Wall Street Journal, 26 October 2009 via online.wsj.com. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
31. ^ Callar las voces críticas: La nueva campaña de Kirchner contra la prensa independiente prueba su veta más autoritaria." (Spanish) El País, 27 August 2010 via elpais.com. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
32. ^ "Presidenta argentina presenta proyecto ante Congreso para reducir poder de periódicos sobre el papel." (Spanish) el Tiempo via eltiempo.com Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
33. ^ "US closely following Argentine debate on freedom of the press" Merco Press, 26 August 2010. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.

Bibliography

• Fernandez, Christina. "Argentine government accuses Clarín and La Nación of conspiring with military regimes." Merco Pres, 25 June 2010.
• Mertnoff, Azul. "Two hundred years of Argentina, seven years of Kirchnerism." Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), 11 June 2010.
• Petras, James F. and Henry Veltmeyer. What's Left in Latin America?: Regime change in New Times. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2009. ISBN 978-0754677970.

External links

• Office of the President
• Official site of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (Spanish) "redirects to presidency"
• Extensive Cristina Fernández de Kirchner biography by CIDOB Foundation (Spanish)
• Clarín newspaper (Spanish)
• Grupo Clarín media (Spanish)
• Fibertel (Spanish)