Until a couple of months ago, few in Mexico City knew who Heydar Aliyev was, and even fewer of those were aware that a marble and bronze statue erected in his honour sat smack in the middle of Reforma Avenue, one of Mexico’s most recognised streets. A plaque standing before the statue detailed the former president of Azerbaijan’s “loyalty to the universal ideals of world peace”. But the presence of the dead dictator sparked controversy in Mexico City. The conflict over how Mexico City accepted $5 million dollars from Azerbaijan to build the statue, as well as a park, has been brewing since November. The agreement to build the statue was reached by the leftist government of the Partido de la Revolucion […]
CATEGORY: Americas
Report calls Brazil the “the country of thirty Berlusconis”
A report issued by world-wide non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders denounced Brazil's ever-worsening landscape for journalists --- citing violence and legal harassment against media professionals, as well as the heavy concentration of...
Brazil creates press freedom forum
Brazil's Judiciary has approved the creation of a permanent forum about freedom of the press, with the goal of debating court rulings on the subject and preparing judges to making more well-founded decisions. The Judiciary’s National Forum on...
Mexican teacher fired for showing gay rights film
A 28-year-old middle school teacher at a private school in Mexico City has been fired after showing her students the 2008 film Milk, which tells the story of gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was murdered in San Francisco in the 1970s. Mexico's...
Brazilian paper censored for 1,200 days and counting
One of Brazil's largest daily newspapers claims that it has now faced censorship for 1,200 days, due to a court ruling prohibiting it from publishing news about a police operation that could incriminate a media tycoon --- who is also the son of a...
Google sees “intimidating effects” in top exec’s detention
Tech giant Google is in the middle of a censorship debate in Brazil after its top executive in the country was temporarily detained during the latest mayoral election. Fabio Coelho was detained in September by order of a judge from the state of...
Argentina: President Kirchner law set to punish critical media group
Attempts to push through a media law in Argentina could end up destroying one of the country's most critical broadcast outlets. Ed Stocker reports A bitter battle between Argentina’s largest media empire, Grupo Clarín, and the government shows no...
Violent Mexican inauguration protests spark right to protest debate
Violent confrontations in Mexico City on 1 December between police and thousands of demonstrators protesting the swearing in of President Enrique Peña Nieto continue to reverberate, as human rights and media protection organisations grapple with...
Brazilian Congress and lobbyists kill world first internet Bill of Rights
The Brazilian Congress’ lower house has killed a draft bill that would have pioneered the world's first “Internet Bill of Rights." Feted by free-speech activists and negotiated over several years, the bill used a civil rights framework to guarantee...
Mexican press: Self preservation becomes self censorship
In Mexico drug cartels continue to dictate news agenda — fear of retaliation influences news outlets’ decisions on what to publish. Ana Arana and Daniela Guazo reveal the results of a new study that exposes the depth to which the public are kept in the dark
