Coronavirus: Swedish report highlights Argentina among countries with unnecessary measures

the 43% of countries considered democratic In the whole world implemented measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic that were disproportionate, indefinite, unnecessary and even illegalsummarizes a report released today by the Swedish organization International IDEA.

According to this organization – whose mission is to promote democracies -, in recent months, there has been a decline in basic standards and human rights. And this trend affects more than four in ten democracies and increases to 61% if included in the analysis non-democratic countries.

The report consign restrictions on freedom of information and expression, lack of consensus during elections or excessive application of police force, among others setback affecting countries like Argentina, Israel, Poland and Serbia.

For the Secretary General of International IDEA, Kevin Casas-Zamora, “the risk is that governments will get used to a new norm and not reverse undemocratic measures“.” Vaccines give people hope there will be a return to “ normality ”But we also need to ensure that democratic norms are restored and strengthened as we emerge from the pandemic, ”he said.

What it says about Argentina

The report states that Argentina is one of the democracies that have suffered significant deterioration. Quickly for concerns about threats to freedom of expression, with criminal cases, against those accused of spreading disinformation about the coronavirus and of “public intimidation”, felony punishable by up to six years in prison.

Stresses that the Inter-American Press Association (SIP) condemned the creation of a new state entity aimed at curbing the spread of disinformation, in reference to the recent creation of the Observatory of disinformation and symbolic violence in the media and digital platforms (Nodio).

On the other hand, he states that Amnesty International has warned that the government Caring application used for contact tracing poses a risk to privacy and the protection of personal data -something that AI and other organizations have also opposed in other countries.

The positive

Lead author of the report, Annika Silva-Leander, noted that “fight the pandemic respect for fundamental democratic principles is not only possible, but effective“, Insofar as” some of the countries with the most effective responses to the spread of Covid-19 have been among the most successful democracies “.

Regarding the positive factors analyzed by International IDEA, include search for broad political agreements and struggle by parties and courts in the face of excessive restrictions. The organization considers that in most of the countries analyzed, accountability mechanisms have countered the overbreadth of government power.