L'
El Mercurio est un journal conservateur
chilien avec deux éditions : une à
Valparaíso et une à
Santiago. It is considered the country's paper-of-record and its Valparaíso edition is the oldest daily in the Spanish language currently in circulation. El Mercurio S.A.P. (Sociedad Anónima Periodística) —the company name— has a network of 19 regional dailies and 32 radio stations across the country. (See List of newspapers in Chile.)
Historique
L'édition de
Valparaíso a été fondée par Pedro Félix Vicuña —le père de Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna— le
12 septembre 1827, et fut rachetée en
1880 par Agustín Edwards Ross. L'édition de Santiago a été fondée par Agustín Edwards Mac Clure, le fils d'Edwards Ross, le
1er juin 1900. En
1942 Edwards Mac Clure meurt et son fils devient président et son fils Agustín Edwards Budge arrive à la tête de la compagnie. Quand il meurt à son tour en
1956, c'est à son fils Agustín Edwards Eastman de prendre la relève.
Critiques
L'
El Mercurio a été critiqué pour avoir reçu des fonds du gouvernement des
États-Unis au début des années 1970 pour lutter contre le gouvernement socialiste de
Salvador Allende par une propagande anti-Allende constante et pour avoir "préparé le terrain pour le coup d'Etat du
11 septembre 1973 (Kornbluh, 2003).
The Presidential Letter issue
The entrenched conservatism of the
El Mercurio led to several much publicized stand-offs with former President of Chile
Ricardo Lagos — the country's first Socialist president since the overthrow of
Salvador Allende. On September 16
2005 Lagos complained about the newspaper’s excessive zeal in trying to tie his family members to graft or special government largess in a scathing letter he wrote to Edwards, which was then printed in the Letters to the Editor section of the newspaper and published on September 21
2005. President Lagos said, in part:
- Unfortunately, when the history of these times is written, your newspaper will be shown to have showcased all the unfounded claims that were made against the president of Chile. I am profoundly sorry about this. I would have hoped for something better, given the knowledge that we both have of one another.
- I have tried to do the very best for Chile, so that there is reconciliation and a renewal of confidence in one another. But because of the hate, the low blows, and the way your newspaper has permanently treated these subjects, I think your newspaper is far removed from what your grandfather would have wanted. Your newspaper has become the servant of a tribe of people in Chile: a tribe that wants to sow hate through the words written on your editorial page, a tribe that will strike out in any way possible.
- Unfortunately, this ‘journalism’ is not good for Chile. But sometimes it seems that hate is more powerful, even if it hurts Chile.” (See a copy of the letter in PDF.)
References
- CIA Freedom of Information Act-available article: "Report of CIA Chilian Task Force Activities, 15 September to 3 November 1970" (November 18, 1970).
Liens externes