The Buenos Aires Press Union (SiPreBA) brought a formal complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) about the attacks by Javier Milei’s government against journalists and press workers. The presentation was given by “Paco” Rabini, historical leader of the union, elected deputy secretary of SiPreBA, treasurer of FATPREN and representative of Clarín delegates, who spoke on behalf of thousands of workers in the sector.
Rabini closed his intervention with a message that summarized the union’s approach: “They attack journalists and press workers because they want to destroy the social role of communication: key to democracy, to question power and to discuss an economic, social and political model of adjustment and exclusion.” According to the presentation, press workers have been suffering systematic attacks by the Milei administration for two years.
The hearing was held at the University of Miami and was convened at the request of union organizations and professional entities in the sector, such as SiPreBA, FATPREN, ARGRA, CELS, Amnesty International Argentina and FOPEA, as well as academic groups such as the Faculty of Social Sciences of the UBA. Journalists who recounted their personal experiences as victims of attacks and harassment also participated, including Julia Mengolini, Hugo Alconada Mon and Tomás Cuesta.
The session included specific cases mentioned by the organizations, such as repressions in public demonstrations—among them the one that left photojournalist Pablo Grillo seriously injured—as well as complaints about job insecurity and the emptying of public and self-managed media. The central objective of the claim was to demand from the government explanations and the immediate cessation of practices that, according to the complaint, affect the professional practice of journalism and violate the social right to information.
