Latin America’s Gagged Voices: How the Free Press Became an Endangered Species

How authoritarianism, violence, and economic collapse are silencing the press

If you’re wondering how authoritarianism creeps back into a region that proudly waved the democratic flag just a decade ago, look no further than the fate of its journalists. The RSF World Press Freedom Index 2025 by Reporters Without Borders (or Reporters Sans Frontieres, as it’s known in French) landed this week, and it paints a damning picture: across Latin America, independent journalism is not just under pressure — it’s under siege.

In the language of the Index, the global state of press freedom is now officially classified as a “difficult situation” for the first time in its history.

For Latin America, that feels like an understatement. In the corridors of power from Managua to Mexico City, the message is clear: critical journalism is no longer tolerated. And in the absence of financial independence, a free press becomes an unaffordable luxury.