Opposition deputies propose auditing of companies with State participation
Salvador Impact | Positive CIVICUS Rating | Obstructed The Economy Committee of the Legislative Assembly has begun to study a bill promoted by the opposition that aims for companies and corporations with state ownership to be audited and monitored every year by the Court of Accounts (CCR, in Spanish). These entities, currently operating with limited […]
The government publishes a protocol to restrict the use of force in social protests
Colombia Impact | Positive CIVICUS Rating | Repressed On January 5, the National Government approved by decree a set of guidelines for the use of public force in social demonstrations in order to guarantee citizens’ right to peaceful protest and assembly. After its publication, a group of Colombian civil society organizations published a statement outlining […]
The Senate asks the Piñera government to remove obstacles for donations to CSOs
Chile Impact | Positive Probability| Medium Civicus Rating | Obstructed On December 1, the Senate approved by majority an agreement requesting President Sebastián Piñera to present a bill to eliminate obstacles and caps on donations earmarked for civil society organizations. Currently, the law established a donation limit equal to 10% of the NGO’s profits. What […]
Por ley, la comunicación será considerada como un derecho humano
Ecuador Impacto | Positivo Rating Civicus | Obstruido El 10 de diciembre la Asamblea aprobó por unanimidad una reforma a la Ley Orgánica de Comunicación impulsada por el gobierno a través de la cual se declara que la comunicación en Ecuador es un derecho humano y no un servicio público. En los fundamentos de la […]
By law, communication will be considered a human right
Ecuador Impact | Positive Civicus Rating | Obstructed On December 10, the Assembly unanimously approved a reform to the Organic Law of Communication promoted by the government, which declares that communication in Ecuador is a human right and not a public service. In the rationale of the law, it is stated that “public services are […]
Bill for the protection of journalists and human rights defenders approved
México Impact | Positive Probability | Medium Civicus Rating | Repressed On December 3, the Chamber of Deputies approved a reform to the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. The bill establishes actions between the three levels of government to create safer physical and digital environments. Among the security measures, it […]
Government empowers itself through law blocking audiovisual content
Uruguay Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Open In addition to income and expenditure plans, the 2020-2024 Budget, sanctioned by the Uruguayan Senate on December 10, brought in something new: powers assigned to the country’s telecommunications authority to block audiovisual content from the Internet in order to prevent copyright violations. The blocking or suspension of […]
Government approves new restrictions on the operation of international social organizations
Venezuela Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Repressed Late November, a joint resolution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the Interior was issued, obliging foreign non-governmental organizations that wish to work in the country to register in a special registry, establish permanent residency within Venezuela and designate a representative According to the regulations, […]
Mounting concerns over lack of transparency in El Salvador
El Salvador Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Obstructed In recent months, concern has grown over the Bukele government’s refusal to release information to the public about the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Ministries of Health (MINSAL, in Spanish), Economy (MINEC, in Spanish) and Agriculture and Livestock (MAG, in Spanish) have […]
Injuries after police clampdown on anti-government demonstrators
Guatemala Impacto | Negativo CIVICUS Rating | Obstructed On November 21, thousands of protesters took to the streets to reject the actions of the Executive branch, demanding the resignation of Giammattei and his vice president Guillermo Castillo. Among the main rallying cries were better usage of public funds to deal with the pandemic and opposition […]