Brasília
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has proposed establishing a council to “orient, discipline, and monitor” journalists, The New York Times reported this week. The panel could fine or revoke the professional rights of writers it deemed excessively negative. “In a society, no right is absolute,” said Luiz Gushiken, a da Silva advisor. Critics called the idea the most serious threat to press freedom since the return of Brazil’s democracy in 1985. Alberto Dines, a newspaper columnist, said the proposal was “inept and bewildering.” In recent months, the nation’s press has been reporting aggressively on allegations of corruption in da Silva’s administration.
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