Censorship in Peru has been prevalent throughout its history. There have been multiple shifts in the level of freedom of the press in Peru, starting in the late 1900s when the country was oppressed, to the early 2000s when the country experienced more freedom; only recently has the country been ranked as partly free. After the neoliberal economic policies implemented in the 1990s stabilized the national economy and led it to an economic boom in the 21st century, usage of TV and access to internet has vastly increased, leading to more spaces of expression.
History
The period of military rule (1968–1980)
Press freedom in Peru underwent its worst stage during the military regime, also known as the Peruvian Military Junta, led by Juan Velasco Alvarado in 1968 to 1980. The president implemented a new press law ordering the expropriation of all national newspapers in 1974. Newspapers were closed and publishers were accused of distorting their reports to influence the public, after which the publishers were sent into exile. Velasco expropriated the country's major newspapers, as well as the main television channels and radio stations.
Print and broadcast media were subjected to censorship. Only media platforms that shared the regime's main aims, to align the means of communication with the social interest of Velasco, were allowed to operate. Velasco used government-appointed bureaucrats to look over the articles being published, such that the papers published resembled the military regime's principles. Hector Cornejo Chavez was one of the figures appointed to overlook El Comercio as he was one of Velasco's must trusted advisers.
Even though Velasco managed to hide opposing opinions on the regime coming from newspapers or mass media platforms, a few independent press organizations managed to survive throughout the late 1970s.
The Fujimori decade (1990–2000)
Peru underwent an internal war characterised by the rise of Shining Path's guerrillas, and terrorist actions, which led Peru under military rule. Peruvian journalists continued to have problems of freedom of the press concerning economic instability and threats from the growing guerrilla movements. In the late 1980s, the Peruvian Armed Forces drafted plans that involved the genocide of impoverished and indigenous Peruvians, the control or censorship of media in the nation and the establishment of a neoliberal economy controlled by a military junta in Peru.
During his campaigning for the 1990 Peruvian general election, Alberto Fujimori expressed concern against the proposed neoliberal policies, though after taking office and being approached by the military, Fujimori abandoned the economic platform he promoted during his campaign, adopting more aggressive neoliberal policies than those espoused by his competitor in the election. Fujimori would go on to adopt many of the policies outlined in Plan Verde and serve as a figurehead leader under Vladimiro Montesinos and the Peruvian Armed Forces.
The Fujimori government did not intervene directly since most media platforms agreed with his objectives, thus maintaining the regime's stability. From 1992 to 2000, much of the information in Peru was controlled by Vladimiro Montesinos, with the government allowing a meager opposition media to exist only to deflect criticism from governments of the Western world and to warn of rising crises from opponents. During the 1992 Peruvian self-coup led by Fujimori, troops occupied newspaper buildings, forcing journalists to show them news stories before these are published. These measures against newspapers, radio and television stations began at 10:30pm on 5 April 1992 and remained for forty hours until 7 April, limiting initial reporting on the coup from domestic media. Fujimori requested the troops to leave the buildings and visited El Comercio to apologize for their actions in the portrayal of their authoritative regime as a dictatorship, while also mentioning the existence of unrestricted press freedom in Peru. During the period, only the Fujimori government was granted to communicate with the public and all newspapers were printed under military observation and contained similar content; every publication was ordered to not include the word "coup". According to of Manuel D'Ornellas of Expreso in 1994, the military's oversight of newspaper following the coup was only momentary due to international condemnation Fujimori received. Montesinos was not concerned about press coverage in newspapers due to their limited distribution amongst the upper classes in Lima; he instead focused on controlling Peru's television channels.