The government of Argentine President Javier Milei implemented a decree this week that modifies the Access to Public Information Law. The decree restricts access when it concerns “private information” from authorities, “public documents” or those that could “cause harm and harm” to people.
The measure generated strong rejection from civil society entities, directly linked or not to the practice of journalism in the country. “A decree cannot limit access to public information, contrary to what was established by a law approved in the National Congress in 2016”, stated the 70 entities in the statement released on Tuesday.
The decree was released after almost nine months of Milei’s administration, with Argentines following the president’s love and public life during this period. His passionate kisses with the artist Fátima Florez, in a crowded theater in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata, and, in recent days, his kisses with his new girlfriend, Amalia Yuyito González. Milei is also an active user of X (formerly Twitter), where he often responds to his supporters and repudiates journalists and economists who are critical of his government. In the last few hours, he retweeted a barrage of messages against the decision of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which ordered the blocking of the social network in Brazil. Among the messages he sent to his supporters are, contradicting the decree, those that “condemned the lack of freedom of expression” with Moraes’ measure. Furthermore, the explicit attitude of Milei and also that of her chancellor Diana Mondino at X did not go down well in Brasília.