Ecuador would be one of the countries that would experience a significant drop in the press freedom index, according to the Chapultepec Press Freedom Index 2023 in the Americas, presented in Mexico during the sixty-year Nineteenth (79th) Session of the General Assembly of the Inter-American Press Corporation (SIP). Similar situations were found in the analysis in Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay.

Data collected for the 2023 report would reveal that the Chapultepec Index fell to its lowest point in the last four years, seeing a decline in the score of 18 of the 22 countries analyzed by the SIP barometer. The region’s overall average would have fallen to just 47.80 points out of a total of 100 points available. “This is the first time that it has been placed below 50 points,” we noted in a press release from the IAPA.

Ecuador appears in the study in 14th place with 43.85 points, below the average and even immediately after countries like Brazil (48.41 points) and Peru (50.69 points). Our country has eight countries in terms of freedom of expression and press, including Mexico (41.82 points), El Salvador (34.25 points), Bolivia (33.88 points), Guatemala (32, 07 points) and the three countries at the bottom of the list: Cuba (14.30 points), Venezuela (12.74 points) and NIcaragua (8.50 points).

“The situation of the barometer shows the constant regressions to the detriment of communication rights in Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba, classified as nations without freedom of press and expression, as well as pronounced trends of deterioration of freedoms in Honduras, El Salvador , in Bolivia. and Guatemala,” specifies the SIP.

The Chapultepec Index was prepared in alliance with the Andrés Bello Catholic University and includes the participation of academics in the areas of freedom of expression and the press, methodology and statistics.

IAPA calls on the Ecuadorian authorities to guarantee the safety of media professionals and to accelerate investigations into attacks against the press.

Topping the list are regional countries like the Dominican Republic (81.08 points), Chile (78.85 points) and Jamaica (76.28). The neighboring country of Colombia remains in ninth place with an index of 52.30 points, one notch below the United States, a nation which would have 60.79 points in the 2023 index.

“Some countries showing significant declines in the Chapultepec index are Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador. Of these, Costa Rica remained in the low restrictions range. Despite accumulating scores that put them in the “low restrictions” range, the following nations deteriorated in their performance: Jamaica, Uruguay, Panama, the United States and Canada, which was reflected in the low score of the entire region,” we explain. in the document.

It should be noted that few countries are showing significant progress this year, including the Dominican Republic, the only nation that is in the “band of nations with broad freedoms of expression” by slightly exceeding 80 points. According to the analysis carried out, Brazil would have presented a slight improvement, but still not enough to exceed 50 points. (YO)