Organizations have coordinated a forum so that residents can listen to proposals and ask questions to the candidates for District 16.
We are in the middle of the election season and, at the local, state and federal level, it is important to know and understand who the candidates for a seat or position are, since they will represent us. In light of this, organizations have coordinated a forum so that residents of District 16 can hear proposals and ask questions to those who will be their voice in government.
The appointment is this coming Tuesday, February 20, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in person at Half Moon Bay.
The organizers of this upcoming Candidate Forum are Thrive Alliance, Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS), Coastside Hope, Pacifica Resource Center, Puente de la Costa Sur (Puente), Senior Coastsiders, and South Coast Sustainable.
This collaborative effort brings together a coalition of community organizations dedicated to fostering positive change. Together, they will introduce Congressional District 16 candidates to the vibrant and diverse communities along the coast.
These Candidate Forums serve as a vital platform to elevate and address the most pressing issues facing nonprofit organizations and their communities in San Mateo County.
The attending candidates are:
Peter Dixon, Co-Founder, With Honor
Rishi Kumar, Chief Revenue Officer, nFolks Data Solutions
Sam Liccardo, former mayor of the city of San Jose
Julie Lythcott-Haims, Palo Alto City Councilwoman
Joe Simitian, Santa Clara County Supervisor
District 16 includes the cities of Atherton, La Honda, Ladera, Loma Mar, Menlo Park, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, Portola Valley, and Woodside in San Mateo County.
Additionally, in Santa Clara County it concerns the cities of Campbell, Cambrian Park, Fruitdale, Lexington Hills, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Parts of San Jose, including unincorporated communities, Saratoga, and Stanford.
In 2023, consumers lost more money to investment scams, reaching $4.6 billion, which was a 21 percent increase from 2022.
Scams in 2023 had a larger economic impact than the previous year, with consumers reporting losing more than $10 billion, a record figure that represented a 14 percent increase over 2022 reports.
The data recently published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) indicate that in 2023, consumers lost more money to investment scams reaching $4.6 billion, which represented an increase of 21 percent compared to 2022.
This was stated by experts during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services, who stated that The imposter scam was the second most evident in 2023, with the second highest amount in losses, at almost 2.7 billion dollars, with bank transfers and the use of cryptocurrencies being the most used payment methods.
Maria Mayo, acting associate director of the Division of Consumer Response and Operations at the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said that reports of losses have increased this year, and she thought that the more information was provided and work was done on prevention this year, the more losses could decrease, something that did not happen.
“The most surprising thing was the amount that was lost, because I thought that last year it was very high, 9 million, but this year it rose to 10 million, it surprises me even though the number of complaints did not change that much during 2023.“, commented Maria Mayo.
The most relevant categories during 2023 were the following:
Impostors
It refers to a person who pretends to be another person from a company or institution, it is also related to false romantic partners, sometimes they use family members or friends to create complicated situations where they ask for financial help.
Online shopping
The most common scams related to online shopping are through fake websites with purchases of fictitious products, or on sites where they can access private information, as they carry out identity theft and clone cards or steal banking information.
Prizes and raffles
These types of scams make you believe that you have won some wonderful prize or some incredible promotion, but before you can collect it you must pay taxes or share your bank details. They generally put pressure on the supposed winner by making them believe that it is for a limited time and they must do what is asked immediately.
Investments
In these cases, the most common thing is that a person invites you to invest in cryptocurrencies or digital investments, in such a way that when you deposit your money it seems real, but they warn you of the risk of loss, where at some point the money disappears, the promise is to earn a lot with little and in a short period of time.
Business and job opportunities
In this case, you are asked to join a company with a small investment that could be recovered and earn much more by generating sales. Generally, the promise is to generate a lot with a minimum amount of investment. A strict schedule is not required, so it is a good offer for some people who need a free schedule. In the end, you do not generate any money, but you do invest.
Social Networking
Contact through social networks has increased, and since it is something that is used daily, people have become very vulnerable. It must also be considered that people who use social networks are of different ages, allowing for a broader reach within the community. In some cases, scams are directed at very specific sectors of the population, such as Latinos, Chinese, African-Americans, etc.
The most commonly used payment method in this type of scam is bank transfer, recording a loss of 1.9 billion dollars. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies have also been used, leaving a loss of 1.4 billion dollars during 2023.
Report and prevent fraud
It is important to fight fraud, you can educate to prevent and warn, thus reducing the number of money losses; now, regardless of the language, there are options to make reports in different languages, in this way more complete reports are generated to prevent the community.
To help people identify fraud, information is provided in 12 different languages, and to report it, you must enter the site https://reportefraude.ftc.gov/#/
There are also simple resources available to help you find out what to do if you have paid a scammer, tips on protecting small businesses, and useful information for refugees and migrants.
Experts stressed that the FTC continues to work and seek more options to protect consumers from the different scams that are currently being generated. Prevention and information are key to achieving a 2024 with fewer economic losses due to scams.
Según la encuesta anual de la Federación Nacional de Venta al por Menor y Prosper Insights & Analytics, en general, los consumidores planean gastar 25 mil 800 millones de dólares en el Día de San Valentín 2024.
“Love is in the air, everywhere I look around…”, este Día de San Valentín huele a amor, amistad y muchas compras, muchos se preparan para mostrarles a sus seres queridos cuánto les importan, y de acuerdo con encuestas, más de la mitad de los consumidores (53 por ciento) planean celebrar el día y gastar varios dólares en la celebración.
Según la encuesta anual de la Federación Nacional de Venta al por Menor (NRF, por sus siglas en inglés) y Prosper Insights & Analytics, en general, los consumidores planean gastar 25 mil 800 millones de dólares en el Día de San Valentín de este 2024 a la par del gasto del año pasado y el tercero más alto en la historia de la encuesta, con un promedio de 185.81 dólares por persona.
Como parte de esto, esperan gastar cantidades récord en otras personas importantes y alcanzar nuevos máximos en las categorías de regalos románticos.
Y es que, después de que los consumidores derrocharon el año pasado para celebrar otras relaciones en sus vidas como amigos, compañeros de trabajo y/o de clase, maestros y mascotas, el gasto en estos grupos está volviendo a niveles normales a medida que los consumidores buscan formas de celebrar las relaciones románticas en sus vidas este año.
Los datos de NRF muestran que los consumidores planean gastar un nuevo máximo de 14 mil 200 millones de dólares en sus parejas o cónyuges este año, o un récord de 101.84 dólares por persona.
Si bien los consumidores en general dan prioridad a los obsequios para parejas y cónyuges este año, no descuidan otras relaciones especiales en sus vidas. Por ejemplo, aunque los consumidores de entre 35 y 44 años son los que más gastan en sus parejas románticas, también son el grupo de edad que planea derrochar más en regalos para mascotas.
El sesenta y dos por ciento de los consumidores entre 25 y 34 años planean celebrar este año, más que cualquier otro grupo de edad.
Encontrar el regalo perfecto para decir “te amo”
No importa para quién esté comprando, ya sea que esté siguiendo la tendencia y derrochando en su pareja, mostrando amor a sus amigos, mascotas y compañeros de trabajo, o celebrando el “Día de Galentine” (Día de San Valentín, ¡pero para las chicas! porque “Gal” significa “chica” y “Day” quiere decir “Día”) con sus amigos, hay algo para todos.
Si bien los dulces y las tarjetas de felicitación siguen siendo los obsequios de San Valentín más populares, los consumidores también están estableciendo récords en gastos en joyería, flores, ropa y salidas nocturnas este año mientras celebran las relaciones románticas de sus vidas.
Algunos consumidores también están pensando de forma innovadora cuando se trata de regalos este año. Los datos sobre las ventas de los comerciantes de Shopify en enero muestran que los compradores se están centrando en artículos más exclusivos.
“Los regalos clásicos como velas, joyas, pijamas y perfumes son ciertamente populares”, señaló el presidente de Shopify, Harley Finkelstein. “Pero también estamos viendo que los compradores optan por obsequios no tradicionales centrados en experiencias, como recrear su cóctel favorito en casa con un nuevo juego de bar, planificar una próxima aventura con accesorios de viaje o realzar la noche de juegos en pareja con una mesa de tejo. “
Incluso si se encuentra entre amigos y parejas románticas, los minoristas también tienen un regalo para eso. Este año, el comerciante de Shopify Sweethearts lanzó los dulces “Sweethearts Situationships” como el regalo perfecto para esa persona especial (aunque emocionalmente no disponible).
“Los minoristas están listos para ayudar a los clientes este Día de San Valentín con obsequios significativos y memorables”, dijo el presidente y director ejecutivo de NRF, Matthew Shay. “Dado que los consumidores dan prioridad a su cónyuge o pareja este año, los minoristas esperan ver un cambio en el gasto en ciertas categorías de regalos”.
Los principales obsequios incluyen dulces (57 por ciento), tarjetas de felicitación (40 por ciento), flores (39 por ciento), una velada (32 por ciento), joyas (22 por ciento), ropa (21 por ciento) y tarjetas de regalo (19 por ciento). Se esperan nuevos récords de gasto en joyería (6 mil 400 millones de dólares), flores (2 mil 600 millones de dólares), ropa (3 mil millones de dólares) y salidas nocturnas (4 mil 900 millones de dólares).
Show love in non-traditional ways
Incluso aquellos que no celebran la festividad encuentran maneras de hacer que el día sea especial. Según la encuesta de NRF, alrededor de un tercio de quienes no planean celebrar el Día de San Valentín todavía encuentran formas de conmemorar la ocasión.
California candidates Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff want to reach the United States Senate and have presented their perspectives, proposals and lines of work.
Senate candidates Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam SchiffThey want to reach the United States Senate, so they have presented their perspectives, proposals and lines of work, as well as their concerns and priorities for the American community, touching on topics such as housing, communities of color, migration, education, health, economy, daycare centers, ecology and the environment, topics that will determine the future of the country.
In a forum held by Ethnic Media Services, the candidates had the opportunity to introduce themselves and share their proposals and ideas, as well as their way of working and answer open questions.
Veteran California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has died at age 90, leaving a tough spot to fill, and the race to fill that U.S. Senate seat is now underway, with 27 candidates vying for the post.
In this forum, Barbara Lee of District 12, California, said she grew up in El Paso, Texas, and comes from a migrant community, so she is no stranger to migration issues, which she said are extremely important to her, as well as issues related to the environment, since she saw firsthand the problem of garbage that impacted communities of color.
She grew up with a stepmother who was Japanese but spoke Spanish, and with this, she understood more closely the diversity of the communities; later they went to live in California, where they thought they would have more opportunities, and that freedom and racism were minimal.
“I wanted to be a cheerleader at school, but I didn't meet the selection requirements and had to seek help to change the process so that girls of color could participate.“, Barbara Lee commented.
He said he really knows how to deal with the problems that California has because he has faced those same situations and challenges for a long time, and because of his life experiences he knows the needs of the community.
“I support undocumented workers because they are a very important part of our economy, they deserve to be treated fairly and the processes must be fair and humane… I support everyone having Medi-Cal“Lee added.
For his part, Adam Schiff, from the 30th District, commented on the border package that included funding for Ukraine, saying that he does not agree, since he believes that it is not worked from a border policy.
He also believes that a real package must include other communities and areas that truly foster the country's growth.
“TWe must take a leadership role to protect our institutions, such as the press“Schiff added.
Adam Schiff came to California as a child seeking the American dream. His father was a businessman and had the opportunity to give them a place to live with dignity, with the opportunity to study and progress, so he wants to give a life like that to all Californians.
She has fought against pollutants, as well as for voting rights and for bills to make health care a civil right. She is involved in issues affecting the African-American, Asian-American, and Latino communities. Another issue that interests her is the fight against gun violence.
“I protect the planet, I protect democracy, I want to make sure people can afford housing, pay for child care; I care about representing everyone and I'm going to make sure I represent every Californian.”, Schiff stressed.
The Senate candidate said he will fight to bring resources to California that are distributed equitably and directed to communities of color. He also supports the LGBT+ community and seeks to elevate women, men, and young people of color, “all communities.”
Katie Porter, from the 47th District, commented that for her, one of the main functions of Congress is oversight, and this should involve asking for answers, “because politics is not just about giving speeches, but asking for answers.”
“I have never sold out, I am the only elected official in this political race who has never received money from packages for corrupt decisions, and you can see the results in the work I do, in how I manage Congress, holding people accountable.“, he commented Porter.
The candidate wants the federal government to invest in communities so that people can buy a home, and she wants to fight against the damage caused by the distribution of political territories, while working on a plan to have decent housing and more opportunities.
Porter supports and admires the work of women in the Afro-descendant and Latina community because she knows their great work in advancing rights and spaces, which is why she supports them to continue opening spaces for diverse communities.
The candidates agreed on the importance of voting and choosing who will represent the voices of California, so they called on people to register and exercise their right to vote.
Encuentran cuerpos en casa en San Mateo. Cuatro personas, incluidos dos niños, fueron encontradas muertas en una casa de San Mateo este lunes por la mañana; las autoridades no han publicado información sobre cómo murieron. Foto: Departamento de Policía de San Mateo
Cuatro personas, incluidos dos niños, fueron encontradas muertas en una casa de San Mateo este lunes por la mañana; las autoridades no han publicado información sobre cómo murieron.
La policía respondió a las 9:13 am a una llamada para un control de bienestar para una casa en la cuadra 4100 de Alameda de las Pulgas, según la portavoz de la policía de San Mateo, Jeanine Ovalle.
Un hombre, una mujer y dos niños fueron encontrados en el interior “con evidentes signos de muerte”, según un comunicado de prensa de la policía.
La cuadra 4100 de Alameda de las Pulgas y las intersecciones cercanas están cerradas al tráfico, dijo la policía.
La policía señaló que el incidente es aislado y no hay peligro para el público.
For the second time, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl. Photo: x 49ers.
Por segunda vez en la historia del Súper Tazón hubo tiempo extra, los Jefes de Kansas City y los San Francisco 49ers llegaron 19-19, todo se definiría en los 15 minutos adicionales, donde, bajo las nuevas reglas, cada uno tendría posesión del balón; los del Área de la Bahía tuvieron la primera ofensiva, sumaron 3 puntos, no fueron suficientes, los Jefes, con un gol de campo lograron alzar el Vince Lombardi.
Así, cero y van dos. Por segunda vez, los Jefes ganan a los 49ers en un Super Bowl, y con ello suman ya 30 años de que los oriundos del Área de la Bahía no logran levantar el tan anhelado trofeo Vince Lombardi.
El marcador final fue por diferencia de tan solo 3 puntos, 22-25. Restando 3 segundos en el reloj, no había nada más que hacer, la NFL tenía a un nuevo ganador. Los Jefes de Kansas City ganaron el Super Bowl LVIII, convirtiéndose en dinastía con 3 campeonatos ganados en 5 años, siendo los dos últimos al hilo.
Patrick Mahomes comandó una ofensiva de 75 yardas que terminó en un pase a Micole Hardman dentro de la yarda 5 para sacar el triunfo.
Mahomes, mariscal de campo de los Jefes, se llevó el MVP (Jugador Más Valioso) con 333 yardas, 2 anotaciones, 1 intercepción y 66 yardas por tierra. Este titulo es el tercero en su carrera.
Con ello, los Jefes han comenzado a forjar su propio camino en la historia de la NFL, quitándose el estigma y comparaciones con la dinastía que marcaron los Patriotas de Nueva Inglaterra.
Y es que tuvieron que pasar 20 años para que una franquicia de la NFL se agenciara el Vince Lombardi en temporadas consecutivas, hecho que lograron los Patriotas al ser liderados por Tom Brady.
Fue en 2020 cuando los Kansas City Chiefs ganaron a los San Francisco 49ers, en esa ocasión 31-20.
Usher amenizó el Medio Tiempo del Super Bowl LVIII en el Allegiant Stadium de las Vegas, Nevada. Los 2000 regresaron al centro del estadio, donde las luces marcaron la espectacularidad del show al cual se sumaron Alicia Keys, Lil Jon y Ludacris, como invitados sorpresa.
La afición pudo disfrutar de viejas glorias del cantante norteamericano con canciones como Caught Up, U Don’t Have to Call, Superstar, Love In This Club, If I Ain’t Got You (Alicia Keys), My Boo (Alicia Keys), Confessions Pt. II, Burn, U Got It Bad (H.E.R.), Bad Girl (H.E.R.), OMG, Turn Down for What (Lil Jon), y Yeah! (Lil Jon y Ludacris).
Although the crab crust controls the Public Ministry and a good part of Congress and the courts, and tries to prevent the deputies of the Seed match of President Arévalo can act as a caucus and lead commissions, another type of alliance is being built in favor of a new governability in Guatemala.
Arévalo has established alliances with right-wing mayors and deputies who are afraid of the strength that citizen oversight has gained, and to this is added the decision of the Executive to open the call to the entire population to elect departmental governors, usually appointed by the president to pay political favors or reinforce cliques of white-collar thieves.
It is encouraging that this measure has encouraged indigenous women with academic training and local leadership experience to come forward.
The absence of indigenous people in the cabinet was initially criticised, but alongside new appointments in high and middle management, it is undeniable that progressive indigenous people are gaining visibility, such as the deputy Sonia Raguay Gutiérrez in the Board of Directors of Congress.
This worries the most rancid part of the oligarchic far right, including the Arzú clan, one of the five most powerful oligarchic trunks, whose top leader Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen, who died in 2018, left his relatives and close associates parasitizing in Congress and in the capital's municipality.
His eldest son, Congressman Alvarito Jr., has been much talked about due to his opposition to the public treasury continuing to cover his expenses on food, drinks, cell phones, medical insurance and other perks.
Since 2020, the indigenous deputy, Vicenta Jerónimo, confronted Alvarito for insisting on wanting to eat with public money and this funny example shows how Guatemala is fighting to leave behind the neo-fascist conservatism that excludes the majority.
By Pamela Cruz with information from Raúl Ayrala. Peninsula 360 Press.
Clarisse Céspedes knows first-hand what bullying at school is. She experienced it through her son, who was verbally attacked several times at school until her husband spoke up and made sure that action was taken on the matter without the case becoming a more serious situation. However, for many who suffer this harassment, the story is very different and it has even cost lives.
“Bullying is in some way a form of violence, and violence can be physical, emotional, or psychological,” said Dr. Guillermina Mejía, a Mexican pediatrician specializing in adolescents, in an interview with Península 360 Press.
The American Psychological Association (APA) details that bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes harm or discomfort to another person, and this can take the form of physical contact, words, or more subtle actions.
The person being bullied usually has trouble defending himself or herself and does nothing to “cause” the bullying.
The organization highlights that bullying can also occur via cyberbullying, using electronic technology such as cell phones, email, social media, or text messages.
“I was wondering, is it okay for them to say things to me at school? I was wondering if it was normal for them to call him fat. But it’s okay, right? I don’t have to worry, he said, and I said, well no, it’s not okay, who said that to you and how did it make you feel bad? Or were you joking and flirting and you said things to him? And he said, no, it’s just that I went to the bathroom and they wouldn’t let me out because they were saying things to me, I asked him who was saying that to him and he didn’t want to tell me,” said Clarisse.
“So one day I mentioned it to his father, and he didn’t have as much patience as I did and he went to the school and wanted to talk to the principal, so the principal told him: ‘this is something that is going to be resolved immediately’, he wanted to call my son and the boy was embarrassed not to answer him and told him what was happening and who they were, so he called them there in the office with my son’s father present and then he called the parents (of the other children). That was the end of the matter really, those children did not bother my son again,” she said.
In bullying, “generally there is a victim, a bully and the public around them,” said Guillermina Mejía. “Even though one is the one who is bullying and the other is the one being bullied, sometimes there is a family pattern; on the one hand, one is the one who lets himself be bullied and the other is the one who is probably bullied at home or is a witness to bullying or violence.”
Mejia explained that California is the number one state in the United States in terms of bullying, and that, he said, is worth noting, because, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center, approximately 56 percent of children had suffered some type of bullying and 71 percent acknowledged that they had seen or been victims of this bullying.
On the other hand, the specialist explained that “in some way, both the harassed and the harasser are children who in the future in their adult life may really have a sequel such as anxiety disorders, they may be children with depressive processes or have a low academic performance when they are transitioning to their adult life or have many failures in terms of their professional work.”
But what can be done about bullying?
“I think you have to ask for help. I was very quiet, and sometimes you do that because you think that it can't be happening to you, that it will fix itself,” said Clarisse.
Dr. Guillermina Mejía stressed that everything starts at home, and that it is necessary to observe whether, in some way, violence is not exercised at home, which children and young people absorb and then take to school and other environments.
"We have to be aware as families, as guardians or parents, that if we are not exercising these types of harassment or violence, then the children take it home," she said.
A study by WalletHub, which examined 47 states and the District of Columbia based on 20 key metrics ranging from bullying incident rates to truancy costs for schools to the share of high school students bullied online, found that “roughly 20 percent of students ages 12 to 18 experience bullying, either in person, online, or both.”
The states with the worst bullying problems according to the study are California, Alaska, Nevada, New Jersey, and Louisiana.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the CaliFornia State Library.
PG&E, reporta la mayor cantidad de cortes en la empresa de servicios públicos en casi 30 años, afectando a más de 1.4 millones de clientes desde el domingo en toda su área de servicio.
A spokesperson for PG&E dijo el miércoles que la tormenta de esta semana ha provocado la mayor cantidad de cortes en la empresa de servicios públicos en casi 30 años, afectando a más de 1.4 millones de clientes desde el domingo en toda su área de servicio.
Casi 38 mil clientes en el Área de la Bahía permanecían sin electricidad a las 2 p.m. del miércoles, un total que aumentó con respecto a los aproximadamente 35 mil de ese mismo día. La mayoría de los clientes afectados se encuentran en South Bay, que tiene más de 19.000 sin electricidad, y en North Bay, donde casi 14 mil están sin electricidad, dijo la portavoz de PG&E, Fiona Chan.
El aumento de los cortes coincidió con otra ronda de lluvia y viento que azotó la región, dejando caer más de media pulgada de lluvia en partes del Área de la Bahía desde el miércoles por la mañana, según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.
Cuando el río atmosférico comenzó a soplar a través de la región, el domingo se produjo el mayor número de apagones en un solo día desde el comienzo del período moderno de registro de apagones de PG&E en 1995.
En los últimos días, la tormenta rompió o derribó más de 700 postes de energía de PG&E y dañó cientos de transformadores, según la empresa de servicios públicos, que tiene alrededor de 5 mil empleados y contratistas trabajando para restaurar la energía.
Los equipos de PG&E tendrán mejores condiciones con las que lidiar a finales de esta semana. Aunque todavía son posibles algunas lluvias en el Área de la Bahía más tarde el miércoles, se espera un clima seco el jueves por la mañana y hasta el fin de semana, según el servicio meteorológico.
Bukele se convertirá en el primer presidente en gobernar El Salvador por un segundo mandato consecutivo, ya que la actual Constitución, prohíbe la reelección inmediata en varios de sus artículos.
Nayib Bukele triunfó en las elecciones presidenciales de El Salvador y consolida su poder con un 70 por ciento de votos escrutados, contando con el apoyo de más de un millón 600 mil votantes.
“Este día, El Salvador ha roto todos los récords de todas las democracias en toda la historia del mundo”, aseguró Bukele al conocer los primeros resultados en la noche del domingo.
Bukele se convertirá en el primer presidente en gobernar El Salvador por un segundo mandato consecutivo, ya que la actual Constitución, prohíbe la reelección inmediata en varios de sus artículos. Sin embargo, los jueces de la Sala de lo Constitucional, en la que el partido de Bukele tiene mayoría, realizaron una interpretación que puso en duda dar luz verde a su candidatura.
En El Salvador existe una prensa que tiene miedo de reportar lo que está ocurriendo realmente, llevándola a una autocensura, ya que tienen mucho temor de las represalias que pueda tener el gobierno, señaló Natalia Borrero, coordinadora de alianzas estratégicas de la Fundación para la libertad de prensa, en una charla con Manuel Ortiz durante el programa Península 360 Radio en colaboración con Marcos Gutiérrez de «Hecho en California».
Natalia Borrero estuvo en El Salvador con algunas organizaciones defensoras de la libertad de expresión y de prensa realizando la labor de acompañamiento y observación durante las elecciones.
Natalia Borrero, coordinadora de alianzas estratégicas de la Fundación para la libertad de prensa.
“En algún punto se había establecido lo que se llamó la ley mordaza, en las que las y los periodistas no podía hablar de las pandillas porque podían ser encarcelados o criminalizados, ya lo levantaron pero mandó algunos mensajes”, comentó Borrero al hablar de la prensa local.
Destacó que, con la ejecución de reformas, se impidió que los medios independientes que reciben financiación por cooperación internacional, puedan tenerla, generando un riesgo en lo que puede suceder en materia civil y de la constitución.
Hablando de represalias en el gobierno de Bukele, La Prensa Gráfica, uno de los periódicos tradicionales e históricos, ha recibido acoso judicial por documentos, lo que ocasiona que se sientan ahogados, generando incertidumbre entre los periodistas, explicó Natalia Borrero.
“El día del discurso, imaginen la cantidad de personas que estaban a favor del gobierno de Bukele, cuando él arremete contra las y los periodistas, eso perfectamente pudo terminar muy mal en agresiones, incluso físicas, pero solamente fue un abucheo a la prensa, aunque sabemos que empieza con estas campañas de desprestigio en redes sociales que pueden llevar a que haya ataques físicos a las y los periodistas en El Salvador”, agregó la defensora.
El discurso que da cuando se proclama ser presidente, se centra también en un episodio que había pasado unas horas antes, en el que citó a una conferencia de prensa, donde no les daban la palabra a los periodistas salvadoreños, ni de medios tradicionales o críticos, solo a medios internacionales, donde las respuestas extendían el discurso que Bukele ya tenía preparado, dejando en claro sus intenciones.
“No solo arremete contra la prensa, sino contra las organizaciones de la sociedad civil”, agregó Borrero.
De igual manera, explicó que los otros candidatos no contaban con apoyo económico, ni de ninguna forma y que lo que se siente en general es una aparente tranquilidad, pero que al observar la realidad se puede notar el régimen de miedo, donde a todos les asusta dar un comentario.
“La libertad de expresión y la libertad de prensa son clave para restablecer la democracia, no solamente en El Salvador sino en todos los países del mundo. El riesgo mayor ahora es que, esta posibilidad de ser libres para asociarnos, para protestar y expresarnos, se vayan perdiendo, por lo que se vaya erosionando cada vez más la democracia”, finalizó Borrero.
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