Political persecution: Lula da Silva’s communication minister vetoes BSM journalists in the inauguration

The minister of the Communication Secretariat (Secom) of the Lula da Silva (PT) government, Paulo Pimenta, said during the ceremony of transmission of office that “journalists will have complete freedom to carry out their activities.”

The minister’s speech took place on Tuesday (3).

“In President Lula da Silva’s government there will be no walls or enclosures. There will be no offense or threats. Journalists will have complete freedom to carry out their activities. There will be facts, arguments,” he declared.

However, the attitudes of the PT government differ from the discourse. BSM (Brasil Sem Medo), for example, was prevented by the Transitional Government from providing journalistic coverage at the Planalto Palace.

Although it was one of the first journalistic companies to request accreditation for its reporting team, entry was denied. Through an e-mail, the Press Coordination of the Presidential Inauguration claimed that “due to space limitations in the inauguration venues, it would not be possible to issue the credential.”

A similar case also occurred with Jovem Pan, which was prevented from broadcasting the presidential inauguration.

The company would position itself in a location on the Esplanada and produce the images on its own. However, the space where the station would be located was transferred to the state-owned communication company EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação).

With information from Brasil Sem Medo

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