The graffiti leapt out at us as we drove through Quito, the capital of Ecuador, on the first day of our May 7-11 IPI press freedom mission: “Weapons of Mass Destruction: El Commercio, El Universo and Teleamazonas” – a derogatory reference to the country’s two  leading independent newspapers, and an independent television broadcaster. Across the city, the hostile graffiti was on display. “Press freedom is only for bankers” read another slogan – an illustration of the view by the government, and now shared by many of its supporters, that critical media outlets in Ecuador are political entities active in an effort by bankers and other traditional stakeholders with entrenched political and commercial interests to resist moves by the government and head of state to create more equality in society by taking on the bastions of privilege.

While it is true in many countries, including liberal Western democracies, that media owners often have powerful political and commercial interests, which they seek to defend, the space for critical journalism, especially watchdog investigative journalism, appears to be shrinking significantly in Ecuador.

A climate of hostility directed at the private media, underscored by the hostile graffiti, and also evident in public criticism of individual journalists by media outlets close to the government, has generated a feeling of fear among reporters, and has sparked and fuelled self-censorship.

The fear and self-censorship have been compounded by a series of criminal defamation suits against critical media figures in Ecuador, including one resulting in prison terms and a US$40 million fine for three newspaper publishers and a former columnist, and another in which two journalists were ordered to compensate the president to the tune of US$1 million for libelling him in a book they co-wrote.

Observers have noted that over the past few years the government appears to have amassed a series of media outlets – in some instances as assets of bankrupt banks, to be held as collateral – which has made the task of vilifying ‘uncooperative’ broadcasters and newspapers easier.

Government representatives suggest that much of the private media is out of control, blurring the line between journalism and political activism, and defaming at will. They speak of a need for order.

While IPI appreciates the need for media self-regulation, and indeed in meetings with private media representatives in Ecuador underscored the importance of professional training and respect for ethical guidelines, the organisation also believes that press freedom values and the rights of journalists are inalienable and universal, as enshrined in various human rights declarations, and upheld by international organisations.

A robust, boisterous, critical press, performing a watchdog function, and acting as an information counterbalance to the power held by elected officials is a cornerstone of any healthy democracy, anywhere in the world.

Regardless of whether or not there is a need for stronger self-regulation, and whether or not the private media are also influenced by vested political and commercial interests, journalists in Ecuador, like their colleagues on every continent, should have the right to work independently, and without fear of imprisonment or disproportionate civil financial penalties.