Freedom of the press has deteriorated in three of the nine Portuguese-speaking countries, with Guinea-Bissau suffering the biggest drop and Timor-Leste registering the sharpest rise in the annual index of the organization Reporters Without Borders, released on Tuesday.
According to the index that classifies press freedom in the world and evaluates 180 countries, among Portuguese-speaking countries, Guinea-Bissau, Brazil and Mozambique registered worse results than in the previous evaluation, while Portugal, Timor-Leste and Angola improved and Cabo Verde and Equatorial Guinea maintained the positions of the previous index.
Guinea-Bissau, which ranks 94th this year, fell five positions.
Reporters without Borders (RSF) consider that “the political stalemate” in the country has been “an obstacle to freedom of the press”.
The organization notes the occupation, in early 2020, of the headquarters of national radio and television by military personnel close to the self-proclaimed President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, in the context of the political crisis that arose after the second round of the presidential elections in December 2019.
In the assessment of RSF, the country’s media and journalists remain “extremely vulnerable” to political and economic pressures, free access to information is not guaranteed and self-censorship in addressing government failures, organized crime and the influence of the military in society prevails. .
Fall of Brazil
The index also records a fall of two places in Brazil, which went from 105th place to 107th place, and one position in Mozambique (from 103rd to 104th place).
RSF considers that Brazil remains a “particularly violent” country for the press.
“President Bolsonaro, his neighbors and several members of the government regularly insult and humiliate some of the most important journalists and media in the country, promoting a climate of hatred and contempt for journalism,” the organization said.
In Mozambique, RSFs report “strong pressure” and “frequent attacks” on independent journalists.
On the other hand, they point out the “almost impossibility” for journalists to access the north of the country, where armed groups have been attacking localities, pillaging and killing civilians, adding that two journalists who tried to do so were detained for four months in 2019.
On the other hand, they point out the increasing difficulty for foreign journalists to obtain accreditation to work in the country.
In the opposite direction, Timor-Leste rose six positions in the index, from 84 to 78, with the organization pointing out that the “relatively free” coverage of episodes of government instability in the years 2019-2020 “allowed to highlight the role of pluralism of the media in the exercise of Timorese democracy “.
Still, the organization points out, journalists face “prosecutions as a form of intimidation, police violence and public defamation” by the authorities.
Ascent of Angola
Angola moved up three positions in the standings, going from 109 to 106.
The RSFs highlight “the encouraging signs” given with the acquittal of investigative journalists in 2018, but note that “the four television channels, radio stations and some twenty print media titles remain largely under the control or the influence of the government and the ruling party “.
“Censorship and self-censorship remain very much present”, point out the RSF, adding that “the exorbitant costs of radio and television licenses are a brake on pluralism” of the Angolan media “.
Portugal also improved its assessment, moving from position 12 to 10 in a total of 180 countries.
Cape Verde (25th), the second Portuguese-speaking country best ranked in the index, and Equatorial Guinea (165th), the worst, maintained their respective classifications.
Regarding Cape Verde, the RSF highlights the decrease in political control over public media, pointing to the Government’s decision to waive the appointment of the administrators of state television, who are now chosen by an independent council.
“Generalized censorship”
Regarding Equatorial Guinea, the RSF denounces the “total control of the media” by the Government and the “generalized censorship”, highlighting the arrest of two journalists for having conducted an interview.
The journalists, who worked for a private television owned by the country’s vice president and son of the President, “Teodorin” Obiang, have since been released, but have not returned to work.
Of the Portuguese-speaking countries, the report does not mention São Tomé and Príncipe.
Published since 2002, the Reporters Without Borders index provides an overview of freedom of information in 180 countries and territories.
The index assesses countries’ performance in terms of media pluralism and independence, environment and self-censorship, legal framework, transparency and quality of infrastructure
