Paraguay: President’s family grab for media companies raises legislator’s concerns

The purchase of three of Paraguay’s leading media outlets by a sister of President Horacio Cartes has raised concerns among legislators, worried over an already troubling concentration in the country’s media. The outlets include Diario Popular, Paraguay’s widest read daily, as well as e-news outlet Hoy and online radio station Laser Stream, all of which were previously owned by former president Juan Carlos Wasmosy’s Grupo Multimedia.

With these purchases, ms. Sarah Cartes now controls 7 major media outlets, all within four months. The president’s sister had previously purchased the La Nación and Crónica newspapers, as well as FM Montecarlo and AM 970 radio stations.

Legislators have loudly questioned these purchases. ABC color, a local outlet, confirmed that the Chamber of Deputies had sent a request for an investigation into “the monopolistic tendencies in the aforementioned business group” to National Competition Commission (CNC). A coalition of left-wing legislators similarly denounced what they consider “a threatening hoarding of the media” by President Cartes.

Source: Otra Prensa

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