Financial sustainability has become one of the main threats to press freedom in Latin America, according to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders (RSF, for its initials in French), released today, Friday, May 2. The report says 22 out of 28 countries in the region recorded declines in their economic indicators, further deepening democratic tensions across the continent.
“It is much more explicit as censorship when someone dismembers a journalist inside an embassy or murders a journalist on the street than when you talk about the structural challenges of the financial stability of a country’s information ecosystem,” Artur Romeu, director of RSF’s Latin America bureau, told LatAm Journalism Review (LJR). “Financial viability has to do with issues involving the market, public policies, regulation of large technology companies — a range of factors. It is important that we bring this to the surface.”
The World Press Freedom Index is a ranking that measures the conditions for the free practice of journalism in 180 countries, based on five indicators: political, social, economic, legal and safety.
“The global consolidated economic indicator is the lowest in the history of the index. That means there is a widespread perception around the world that there is a highly complex challenge to the financial stability of news media,” Romeu said. “This economic fragility of news organizations places journalism in jeopardy and has various impacts on editorial independence.”
According to RSF, the consequences of this scenario are severe, as financial pressure has led some outlets to cater to political or commercial interests or merely reproduce press releases. The report also emphasizes that in hostile environments, self-censorship becomes a survival strategy for many journalists.
The report says journalism in Latin America faces persistent structural challenges, such as media ownership concentration, weak public information services, and poor working conditions. In recent years, according to RSF’s analysis, the collapse of traditional business models has worsened this crisis, as advertising revenue has shifted to global technology platforms.
Nicaragua and authoritarian trends raise concern
Nicaragua (ranked 172nd) became the lowest-ranked country in Latin America in 2025, overtaking Cuba (165th), and dropping nine places compared to last year.
“For the first time, we have a country in the region that ranks lower than Cuba, which is unprecedented. The Cuban Constitution prohibits private ownership of the media, so essentially any kind of non-state journalism is clandestine. That obviously creates a very unique situation” said Romeu. “In Nicaragua, you have a process of planned eradication of journalism that has been ongoing since 2018. It has reached a point where today the only kind of journalism about Nicaragua is produced in exile.”
Map of press freedom in the Americas in 2025. Source: World Press Freedom Index.
Regarding Argentina (87th), the index highlights President Javier Milei’s actions in stigmatizing journalists, dismantling public media, and using state advertising as a tool of political pressure. The country has fallen 47 positions in just two years. “This is closely associated with Milei, who has an entirely belligerent, confrontational, and virulent approach to the press. He has also adopted policies that restrict access to information and transparency,” Romeu said.
Peru (130th) also continues its decline for the third consecutive year, falling 53 positions since 2022, due to judicial harassment, disinformation campaigns, and growing pressure on independent media.
“It is a very abrupt drop, in a short period, that relates to the general closure of civic space,” Romeu said. It has to do “with the capture of power by a core group, a corrupt political elite that is shutting down spaces for social participation. It is a government that is becoming increasingly closed off.”
El Salvador (135th) continues its downward trajectory, losing 61 positions in the index since 2020. RSF’s report notes that under President Nayib Bukele, press freedom has been weakened by propaganda and systematic attacks on media outlets critical of the government.
Venezuela (160th) remains among the worst performers in the region, with a situation marked by widespread censorship and judicial persecution of press professionals. The country fell four positions compared to last year’s report. In Haiti (111th), the collapse of the state and gang violence have turned journalism into a high-risk profession, causing the country to drop 18 spots on index. The report also emphasizes that the lack of political stability has plunged the country’s media economy into chaos.
Contrary to the regional trend, Brazil (63rd) continued to climb in the rankings following the end of the Bolsonaro government, with a leap of 47 positions since 2022. The country also stood out as one of the few to improve its economic indicator in 2025.
Despite the positive highlights, Romeu explained that Brazil’s social indicator is very low. There is a perception that journalists work in a hostile environment, with low trust in media and a certain degree of self-censorship, but that does not necessarily reflect in the country’s overall ranking.
“That is why there is this kind of contradictory trend, in the sense that the safety indicator improves, because there are fewer cases of journalists killed, disappeared, imprisoned, or kidnapped. But still, there is a high perception of fear and low societal trust in the work of the press,” said Romeu. “Even though Brazil rose significantly in the ranking, this is one area where the country performs worse.”
Mexico (124th), the deadliest country in the region for journalists, dropped three positions, partly due to the increasing economic fragility of its media ecosystem. Mexico’s economic indicator saw the fourth-largest decline in the region.
“There is a perception of an overall economic weakening of media outlets in the country. That is what pushed Mexico slightly downward,” Romeu said. “The safety indicator remained stable this year compared to previous ones. It is one of the countries where the most journalists are killed, but the indicator did not significantly worsen compared to previous years. If the index were based solely on safety, Mexico would be ranked 155th.”
Ecuador (94th) and Bolivia (93rd) moved up in the rankings, with jumps of 16 and 31 positions respectively compared to the 2024 report.
“Our perception is that Ecuador still faces a very problematic situation, a very delicate and difficult environment for journalism, despite this 16-place improvement,” said Romeu. “The same goes for Bolivia, which has a complex political scenario. If there were a ranking based solely on the safety indicator, Bolivia would be at position 116, which is terrible, very low. So despite a significant rise, it is still in a very poor position.”
Colombia (115th) maintains a stable overall score. RSF’s report says the government’s policy toward the press remains ambivalent, oscillating between support for a pluralistic media environment and President Gustavo Petro’s confrontational rhetoric against major media outlets, in a context of ongoing threats to journalist safety.
Guatemala held steady at 138th. Although Guatemala lost two points in its score, the director explained that a drop in score does not always result in a worse ranking. At the same time, an improvement in one indicator does not necessarily translate into a generally positive perception of press conditions in the country.
“What I find interesting about Guatemala is that you can see that a more favorable political posture from the executive branch does not necessarily or automatically translate into structurally better conditions for practicing journalism,” said Romeu. “The Public Prosecutor’s Office uses the judiciary to persecute media outlets and journalists, as in the case of [José Rubén] Zamora. It is still perceived as a dangerous country for practicing journalism.”
In the United States (57th, down two positions from 2024), Donald Trump’s second term has led to a worrying deterioration in press freedom, according to RSF. The government ended funding for several newsrooms through the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Similarly, the freezing of international aid funds through USAID plunged hundreds of media outlets into critical economic instability, forcing closures in several countries.
“These Trump policies in a way contribute to RSF’s decision to bring the economic indicator to the forefront,” said Romeu. “Undermining the international cooperation model is extremely severe. USAID is very symbolic of this strategy of dismantling things at the root.”
RSF’s global report indicates that, for the first time, the situation of press freedom has become “difficult” on a worldwide scale, with the average score of all evaluated countries falling below 55 points.
The data show that in 42 countries, representing more than half of the world’s population (56.7%), the situation is considered “very serious,” with press freedom virtually absent and journalism extremely dangerous to practice.
“We are talking about a generalized deterioration,” said Romeu. “Over the past few years, there has been a continuous worsening of conditions for practicing journalism around the world, regardless of where we are.”
