Argentina's Battle With Clarin Media Group Escalates

The ongoing battle between Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and the Clarin media group --which controls 50 percent of print circulation in the country and owns one of the biggest cable television networks in Latin America -- is heating up.

President Fernandez has given Clarin until December 7 to sell off some of its assets in accordance with an anti-media monopoly law passed in 2009, and has threatened to auction them off if the media giant does not comply. Officials say the price of these assets would be established by a federal court, and proceeds from the auction would go directly to the company, not the government, according to the Wall Street Journal.

These plans were confirmed on Wednesday by Martin Sabbatella, who was recently appointed to head the agency charged with enforcing the media law, La Nacion reports. Sabbatella said that while the law affects at least four other media conglomerates besides Clarin, it is the only group directly challenging the measure.  He also claimed that the 2009 law limits media companies to a maximum of 24 broadcast licenses nationwide, and Clarin has 237.

Clarin maintains that it is only standing up for freedom of the press in Argentina, but the Fernandez administration accuses it of using the law to score political points, pointing to its extensive coverage of recent anti-government protests as evidence. Al Jazeera English reports that the December 7 deadline is the same date on which several anti-Fernandez demonstrations are planned, and questions whether the media group is spurring opposition for its own benefit.

Clarin has vowed to fight the measure, and has prepared itself for a long-term fight against the law in the country’s court system. But this may no longer be an option. On Wednesday, Congress passed a law creating a new constitutional mechanism known as “per saltum,” which allows the government to bypass federal appeals courts and present cases directly to the Supreme Court.

If the government asks the Supreme Court to intervene in the Clarin case and the Court rules in the government’s favor, it could give the company less time to sell its assets. However, as Reuters notes, an unfavorable ruling could spark a conflict between judiciary and the other branches of government, which are dominated by Fernandez’s Front for Victory party. 

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