The Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES) warned that the Nayib Bukele to reform the Constitution “will affect freedom of the press” and addresses the mandatory membership of professionals, as well as requiring the media to collaborate with the national State, according to what is specified by local lawyers.
The organization that brings together Salvadoran communicators warned that the proposal that seeks to be approved by the legislative Assembly aims to regulate the professional secret through the inclusion of a paragraph in article 6 of the Magna Carta.
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The practice of professional and critical journalism is a fundamental pillar of democracy. That is why it bothers those who believe they are the owners of the truth.
Section number six, which recognizes the right to freedom of expression, would be modified by introducing a specific addition to the regulations that indicates that “The law will regulate the right to the conscience clause and professional secrecy in the exercise of freedoms”.
In relation to this, the rapporteur of APES Freedom of ExpressionGabriel Labrador, warned that “In this context of neglect of press freedom, it is very likely that these types of reforms will be implemented and that there will be no prior reflection in the Legislative Assembly.””.
The current vice president of The SaviorFélix Ulloa gave him Nayib Bukele the proposition that would violate the legal obligation of Salvadoran journalists in the exercise of their profession. The president of the APES, Angélica Cárcamo, pointed out that “if these reforms are approved, only people who have an academic degree can practice.”
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“Journalists have professional secrecy and it is what allows us to do our work without fear,” said Gabriel Labrador and emphasized that “in this context of attacks it is worrying that a Government says it is going to regulate it.”
In September 2020, the president Bukele He appointed Ulloa to coordinate the study and proposal to reform the Constitution. The original wording of the second paragraph of statement 248 establishes that “the only way to modify the Constitution is through approval in a legislature with a simple majority and its ratification with a qualified majority.”
P.M
