The approximately 700 employees of Argentina's state news agency, Télam, were surprised with an email in the early hours of Monday (4) in which they were dismissed from work for the next 7 days.
The agency, located in the San Telmo neighborhood, in Buenos Aires, was closed and surrounded by bars and police officers in the morning. The website with the entire news archive is down, displaying the message: “The page you are trying to see is under reconstruction”.
Presidency spokesman Manuel Adorni said in a daily press conference that the measure was taken while the government evaluates the next steps towards closing the agency, promised by Javier Milei in the election campaign and announced last Friday (1 °), in the opening speech of the legislative year.
In front of parliamentarians, Milei alleged that the agency was used as “Kirchnerist propaganda”, in reference to the opposition political party led by former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Adorni added that the company is “deficit-making” and that the closure was a campaign promise from Milei, who promotes cutting public spending.
Around noon on Monday, local time, hundreds of people gathered in front of the agency in rejection of the closure.
The company has correspondents throughout Argentina since 1945, with interruptions due to political decisions, and supplies the country's media with texts and photos.
Employees will hold a meeting and repudiate the decision
This afternoon, employees will hold an assembly to define how to act in light of the measure.
A CNN, Jerónimo Rojas, a Télam employee and union leader of the Buenos Aires Press Union (SiPreBA) who was at the protest this afternoon, stated that the workers will set up a tent and camp in front of the building “until the situation is reversed” and everyone can return. to their posts.
For SiPreBA, the measure is an attack on democracy and freedom of expression.
“Télam is not a company that needs to guarantee profits, but rather pluralism, federalism and information to guarantee democracy. Milei wants to silence the voices and for the hegemonic media to move forward with the journalistic agenda”, Rojas highlighted to CNN.
Journalists accredited at Casa Rosada, headquarters of the Argentine government, demonstrated with a statement and posters saying “Télam is not closed” during the press conference held by Milei's spokesperson, this Monday morning, in solidarity with Télam workers.
The Association of Foreign Correspondents of Argentina emphasized “the need for the country to have a state news agency, and not a government one, that guarantees citizens access to plural information and supports the dissemination of news that, for obvious reasons, is not usually interest the commercial media”.
*With information from Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
