At Radio Jai they are worried because your journalist accredited at Casa Rosada, Silvia Mercado, He is prohibited from asking questions at the press conferences that spokesperson Manuel Adorni holds almost every day, since his accreditation was not renewed. Also the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) and the Periodistas Argentinas organization issued statements expressing their concern about this situation.
The Government decided not to renew the accreditation that the journalist had had for 10 years, where at first she worked for other media outlets covering information from the Government House, while in recent years she was accredited by Radio Jai, the only Jewish radio station in Argentina.
On June 6, for the first time Silvia Mercado was unable to join as an accredited journalist for Radio Jai. with his fingerprint in the systems that until then allowed him to automatically enter Casa Rosada.
From that day on, the journalist has to notify the reception so that someone from the Press can pick her up and she can go to the Government House. But she is prohibited from asking questions at Adorni’s press conferences, since “Radio Jai’s accreditation was not renewed, because it did not meet the requested requirements,” official sources told Clarín.
“They removed my fingerprint, by not renewing my accreditation. No one had even notified me before,” Mercado told Clarion. And he added: “Now, when I go to Rosada I have to present DNI, they have to ask permission from the Press Secretary and an official has to come look for me. “I can enter, but I can’t ask questions at press conferences.”
The general director of Radio Jai, Miguel Steuermannmaintained that this happened “in a very mysterious way”, since Mercado presented the papers to renew his accreditation for the Jewish station, but “they took away his accreditation, without a response from anyone, not from Adorni, nor from those who work there. We have asked and we did not get an answer,” the director of Radio Jai told Clarion.
“Let’s hope at some point we have information or that they resolve it, especially with an accredited journalist with so many years in Casa Rosada and who is known by so many people. But the absurdity never ends. It was the accreditation for the only Jewish radio station,” Steuerman told Clarín.
And the director of Radio Jai added: “It surprises us, because I interviewed Javier Milei several times. We also covered his visit to Israel and the Vatican. The answer that Silvia (Mercado) had was that Adorni had to talk to Karina (Milei). But if the spokesperson has to talk to the general secretary to accredit a journalist, that shows how bad we are,” Steuerman lamented.
Although Mercado was accredited by Radio Jai, which requested the renewal of its accreditation, she also works as a journalist at the newspaper The chronicler, where he writes about the PRO; has its own program Radio City, “Operación Masacre”, where he delves into journalistic investigative books told by their own authors; She is the author of several books; and she writes on the Mendoza portal MemoDiarywhere he covers Casa Rosada.
“I was accredited by Radio Jai, which submitted the papers in a timely manner. They never told him there was any problem. Not even after they did not renew the accreditation. Nor did they ask for another journalist. I would have another means of accreditation, on the other hand, which is a Mendoza medium, MemoDiario”said journalist Mercado.
However, official sources told Clarion What if she wants to be accredited through another means of communication? “you should wait” to make the presentation “next year”, since “it is renewed once a year. The resolution contains the deadlines and that deadline has expired,” the Government stated.
On the contrary, Silvia Mercado considered that this is an issue of restriction on freedom of the press and expression. “They have problems with professional journalism, not with militant journalism. It is a personal, discretionary matter. They have no reason other than a whim. That’s why they don’t explain it,” Mercado assured Clarion.
The FOPEA entity expressed its concern about the non-renewal of the Market accreditation. “The colleague from Radio Jai She reported that since June 6 she has been waiting for a response to her request and noted that she has been accredited at the Government House for 10 years.
“The lack of official explanations once again highlights the need for the authorities to make public the requirements that a journalist must meet to be accredited,” said the entity that defends journalists. And he stressed that “what happened now with Mercado represents a good opportunity for the national government avoids reprisals and discretions, design and transparent an objective, plural and equitable mechanism for the accreditation of journalists in Casa Rosada”.
Periodistas Argentinas also released a statement about this situation. “We demand that the national government renew the journalist accreditation at the Casa Rosada for colleague Silvia Mercado. Once again we express our concern about a fact that limits freedom of the press and expression. We demand decent conditions to carry out our work,” the organization said.
Javier Milei’s previous controversy over dogs
At the beginning of the year, President Javier Milei accused Silvia Mercado of being a “serial liar” for an erroneous publication that she made on the television channel La Nación + (LN+), which “jeopardized” Adorni’s position as presidential spokesperson, according to what he himself said in a press conference.
Mercado had reported that Milei’s four dogs had moved to Quinta de Olivos, according to what an official source had told her, she said in those days. But The truth is that there they were fixing the place so that the English mastiffs could move in, something that only came to fruition a few weeks later.
However, That mistake unleashed Milei’s anger, who on January 9, after leading a cabinet meeting, wrote a tweet against Mercado: “The impunity with which some journalists invent and operate lies is scandalous (especially the one who broadcasts the news who does this type of thing regularly) “None of my dogs are in Olivos,” the President stated that day in his X account.
In response to Mercado’s response, assuring that this information had been given to him by official sources, Milei insisted: “Here the liar ‘the journalist’ clings to her lie, shows her cell phone as if that were proof of something and, at the same time, knowing it or not, It puts the job of the ONLY PRESIDENTIAL SPEAKER at risk. “That’s how ‘serious’ some of these serial liars are.”
In solidarity with Mercado, the National Academy of Journalism expressed “its deep concern about the offending words used by the President of the Nation, Javier Milei, against the journalist Silvia Mercado.”
“At the same time, there is also the duty of all the protagonists of public life to take care of manners and preserve respectful treatment between people. This duty is imposed more strongly when the person who must comply with it is the president of the Nation. The National Academy of Journalism calls for differences in public spaces are resolved with good manners, without personal grievances“, stated at that time the entity chaired by Joaquín Morales Solá.
The Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA) pointed out on that occasion that “the President himself in two messages on platform high presidential investiture, especially when those who are in the Government today have disqualified the actions of previous governments for their abuse of institutions, journalism and citizens in general,” said ADEPA. And he stated that “If an official seeks to deny or confront information, he or she can do so with data and without personal disqualifications.”
