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<div class=Section1>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><br>
</span><a href="http://www.economist.com/"><span style='color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=183 height=89 id="Picture_x0020_2"
src="cid:image001.gif@01CC4AB4.2BBB5DD0" alt="The Economist"></span></a><span
style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=50 height=50 id="Picture_x0020_3"
src="cid:image002.jpg@01CC4AB4.2BBB5DD0"
alt="http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/AmericasView.jpg?1282578902"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The
Americas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a
href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview"><span style='color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none'>Americas view</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Freedom
of the press in Ecuador<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>A
chill descends <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Jul 22nd 2011, 16:10 by S.K. | QUITO <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=595 height=335 id="Picture_x0020_4"
src="cid:image003.jpg@01CC4AB4.2BBB5DD0"
alt="http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/original-size/20110723_AMP502.jpg"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>FOR
a man who calls his country’s legal system dysfunctional and corrupt,
Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s president, has fared remarkably well before the
courts. In 2008 he won a $600,000 suit against Banco Pichincha, the
country’s biggest bank, because it had erroneously included him on a list
of delinquent credit-card holders. On July 20th he was granted a far larger
$40m judgment in a libel case against a columnist for the El Universo newspaper
and three of the company’s directors, in a ruling that free-speech
advocates say will have a chilling effect on the press.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Mr
Correa, Ecuador’s most popular and powerful president in a generation,
has long called independent television, radio and newspapers his worst enemies.
Among his harshest critics was El Universo’s Emilio Palacio. Last
September the Ecuadorean police staged a <a
href="http://www.economist.com/node/17204908"><span style='color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none'>mutiny</span></a>, in which the president was escorted
out of a hospital amid a firefight between the army and the police. Four months
later, Mr Palacio <a
href="http://www.eluniverso.com/2011/02/06/1/1363/mentiras.html"><span
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>wrote</span></a> that the
“dictator” might some day face prosecution “before a criminal
court for giving orders to open fire at [his troops’] discretion and
without warning against a hospital full of civilians and innocent
people.” The accusation was highly questionable, since the
soldiers’ commanders had told them not to shoot first. But Mr Palacio was
not the first to make it, and many observers have criticised the
president’s decision to start the rescue operation before having the
hospital where he was trapped evacuated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Mr
Correa has often used the courts to try to silence his critics. In March he
sued the authors of “Big Brother”, a book recounting his elder
brother’s <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/14660471"><span
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>wildly successful business deals</span></a>
during his presidential term, for $10m apiece (five times the previous
record-high judgment in an Ecuadorean court). This time he went even further,
filing suit against Mr Palacio and the paper’s directors for $80m plus
jail terms for the defendants.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Although
Mr Correa is known for keeping a packed schedule, he took six hours off work to
attend the hearing for the lawsuit in Guayaquil on July 19th. He was
accompanied by a small crowd of supporters that pelted the defendants and their
lawyers with eggs and bottles outside the courthouse. The media were barred
from attending. It took Juan Paredes, replacing the intended judge who was on
holiday, less than two days to read through the case’s 5,000-page file
and issue a 60-page ruling. He sentenced Mr Palacio and Carlos, César and
Nicolás Pérez—the newspaper’s directors—to three years in
jail each, as well as granting Mr Correa half the damages he sought ($30m from
the three men and $10m from the company).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>An
El Universo executive said after the ruling that the newspaper, with a
circulation of 70,000, is worth just $35m. It will have to borrow to pay the
judgment—particularly if it plans to cover the liabilities of the
individual defendants, who are not nearly rich enough to pay on their own. The
president called the ruling a “historic landmark” ending the media’s
“reign of terror”—and then promptly had his lawyer announce
that he would appeal it, in order to get the full $80m he had requested. Mr
Correa says he is seeking justice, not money, and that he will donate the funds
to a troubled <a
href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2010/09/ecuadors_environment"><span
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>environmental scheme</span></a>
aimed at preventing the exploitation of an oil field. (He did, however, keep
the $600,000 from Banco Pichincha, on which he has managed to avoid paying
income taxes).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The
defendants say they will appeal, and do not have to pay up or go to jail until
those efforts are exhausted. If the ruling is allowed to stand, however, it is
sure to put Mr Correa’s critics on notice that expressing their
objections too forcefully could put them out of business or send them to jail.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the ruling was
“contrary to regional freedom of expression standards” and would
produce “self-censorship and a notable chilling effect that impacts not
only the individuals convicted but Ecuadorean society as a whole.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The Miami
Herald<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Other
Views<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>LATIN
AMERICA<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>Silencing free speech in Ecuador<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>BY
JON PERDUE<span style='color:#666666'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<h3 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="mailto:jonperdue@gmail.com%20">jonperdue@gmail.com
</a><o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<h3 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>July 24, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<h3 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></h3>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Last Wednesday, a judge in
Ecuador sentenced editorial page editor Emilio Palacio to three years in jail
for writing an editorial in the newspaper <span class=italic1>El Universo </span>that
called Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, a “dictator.”
Along with Palacio, three brothers that serve as directors of the newspaper,
Carlos, César and Nicolás Pérez, were also sentenced to three years each.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Correa, a far-left
politician that follows the “21st Century Socialism” model of
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, has called Ecuador’s media
“political actors who are trying to oppose the revolutionary
government.” Correa filed both a criminal complaint and an $80 million
civil lawsuit against the newspaper and the four individuals. The judge cut the
judgment in half to only $40 million, on top of the jail sentences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>To make sure that the
newspaper and any other media outlets got the message, <span class=italic1>El
Universo </span>received a surprise visit the day before sentencing by a Correa
agent from the Ministry of Labor Relations who asked to see all salary and
payroll information. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Though Correa has been
widely condemned for trying to legally stifle criticism against his autocratic
tendencies, he has shown little concern for his detractors. Wednesday’s
verdict was just the first of many Correa lawsuits that are pending. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>In May 2007, Correa filed
a lawsuit against Francisco Vivanco Riofrío, a member of the board of directors
of the daily <span class=italic1>La Hora</span>, for an editorial that said
that the president wished to rule Ecuador “with turmoil, rocks and
sticks,” and which called his actions as president
“shameful.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>President Correa has not
limited his legal rampage to newspaper editorialists. In March of this year he
also sued Juan Carlos Calderón and Christian Zurita, two investigative
journalists and authors of the book <span class=italic1>Gran Hermano</span>
(Big Brother), for its revelations about a scandal in which the
president’s brother, Fabricio Correa, had gotten large contracts with the
government.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Correa’s
litigiousness is based upon Article 230 of Ecuador’s penal code, which
prescribes prison sentences for “disrespect” which comes from
“threats or libel that would offend the president.” These
disrespect, or <span class=italic1>desacato, </span>laws, exist in a number of
countries in Latin America, though the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights and a number of free speech organizations have long called for their
repeal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The New York-based
Committee to Protect Journalists has stated, “Ecuador’s outdated
criminal defamation provisions have been systematically used to punish critical
journalists,” and the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) issued a
statement on Wednesday condemning “the ongoing harassment of
Ecuador’s independent press through excessive and disproportionate legal
suits by President Rafael Correa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The IAPA stated that
Ecuador’s version of the <span class=italic1>desacato</span> law was
“an archaic concept in a modern democracy and outmoded in Latin America
and which should be eliminated from penal codes,” and the Ecuadorean
Association of Newspaper Publishers (AEDEP) stated that “no other
contemporary Ecuadorean politician has employed such a legal concept as an
instrument to frighten the press.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The origin of these <span
class=italic1>desacato</span> laws dates all the way back to imperial Rome,
when they were enacted to protect the honor of the emperor, and their use in
the Americas dates back to the time of the Spanish Viceroyalty’s
implementation of the <span class=italic1>encomienda</span> system that
maintained the imperial hierarchy. Today, these anachronistic laws are being
used by those who rail against the very imperialism that they now practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Just days before
Wednesday’s verdict, the directors of <span class=italic1>El Universo </span>offered
to issue a correction if Correa would drop the prosecution. He refused. Though
Correa’s actions indicate an extreme sensitivity to criticism, his
decision to send journalists to prison for calling him dictatorial shows that
he is impervious to irony.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span
class=endnotecontrib><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Jon
Perdue is director of Latin America Programs at The Fund for American Studies
in Washington, D.C.</span></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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