46.
Furthermore, in 2009, in the Presidential Broadcast “Enlace Presidencial", the
then President referred to El Universo, and its directors, in the following terms:
So that you can see the moral stature of these media outlets that supposedly
inform us […] Do you really know who owns EL UNIVERSO? Everyone in Ecuador
knows. Who are the owners of EL UNIVERSO? The Pérez, the Pérez family,
supposedly, but go see in the Superintendency of Companies who the owners
are [...] Of the 14 million dollars that EL UNIVERSO newspaper supposedly has,
more than 90% is owned by three ghost companies of the Grand Cayman
Islands, and this is the tabloid that wants to inform the Ecuadorian people. So
you can see what kind of people we have to deal with. The true owner of the
newspaper EL UNIVERSO, this Mr. Carlos Eduardo Pérez Barriga, do you know
how much he pays in taxes? 3,986 dollars […] And this is the kind of people and
the kind of tabloids that expect to inform the Ecuadorian people. Don't be fooled,
students, don't be fooled, compatriots, here are the enemies of change and we
have to fight them head-on [...] We are going to face this kind of press, it is a
necessary fight, we are not fools, we know the monsters we are facing, but it is
an unavoidable fight if we want to move the country forward, ladies and
gentlemen […] The traditional political parties have been defeated at the polls,
but don't be fooled, the new political parties of that right, of that bourgeoisie, of
those omnipotent powers that have crushed our country, are now in the media. 57
47.
The Inter-American Commission, through its Office of the Special Rapporteur for
Freedom of Expression, found that the then President had made multiple stigmatizing
statements against the press, which included calling them "corrupt" press and
"ignorant", and accused them of "bad faith" and causing "embarrassment", after
publishing articles and opinions on the country’s economic management. 58. He
expressed his concern about state acts and measures that, in the opinion of the
Commission, stigmatized journalists and media outlets that maintained a critical editorial
line with respect to the government. 59 It verified that, during the same period, several
journalists were the subject of legal proceedings under the laws of contempt, defamation
and libel, through civil proceedings for damages, and laws were adopted that affected
the media. 60
48.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression affirmed, in his
Preliminary Observations, following his visit to Ecuador from October 5 to 11, 2018, that
for 10 years the government had stigmatized and persecuted journalists, weakened civil
society organizations, and limited access to information, "treating freedom of expression
as a privilege instead of an individual right guaranteed under the Constitution and in
international treaties". 61 In that regard, he warned of the existence of legal provisions
that constitute significant interference to freedom of expression, including those that
Statements of the then President of the Republic regarding El Universo newspaper or its journalists
(evidence file, folio 4442), and video of the program ‘Enlace Ciudadano’ of January 10, 2009 (evidence file,
audiovisual material folder, minutes 6:23 to 9:22).
57
58
Cf. IACHR. Report by the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression 2017, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.210/17,
December 31, 2017, par. 452-461.
59
Cf. IACHR. Press Release No. R51/09 of July 21, 2009; No. R40/10 of March 31, 2010; No. R104/11 of
September 21, 2011; No. R34/11 of December 27, 2011, and No. R32/11 of April 15, 2011.
60
Cf. IACHR. Report by the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression 2008, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.134,
February 25, 2009, par. 106, and Report by the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression 2010,
OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 5 of March 7, 2011, par. 212-215.
61
Preliminary Observations of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression following his visit to
Ecuador, October 5 – 11 2018.
18