In October 2019 and June 2022, intense social demonstrations led by the indigenous movement took place across much of Ecuador. During those two moments there were episodes full of official violence and also intense police repression.

In the protests of October 2019 and those of June 2022, many things were mixed: legitimate social demands, fully democratic agendas for inclusion and the fight against inequality, and the actions of groups that want to create chaos to destabilize not only the government, but all democratic institutions . Everything gets mixed up in such complex contexts, so reducing everything to violence is not the best perspective from a journalist’s point of view.

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Namely, among the violence of those days, one of the fiercest and most systematic was that which was carried out against journalists and the media who followed the events on the streets. During the strike in 2019, Fundamedios recorded 116 attacks on the press, and in the strike in June 2022, 164 attacks. Mobilized social sectors had (and have) requests for the press. Of course, you cannot criticize journalists and the media at the site of stone-throwing and attacks. However, it is necessary to collect and process requests from journalism.

Recently on the portal of the regional journalism project you are connecting They interviewed Argentine professor and journalist Fernando Ruiz, who describes the situation we are talking about crystal clear: “In Latin America, the main human rights problem is social inequality, it is persistent and extreme. Journalism seems to be less concerned with this issue and social rights than with other types of rights. Journalism somehow ends up functioning as an institution that contributes to the reproduction of inequality”.

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Journalists should adopt a critical and judgmental approach to policies and practices that perpetuate inequality. Instead of just reporting problems, they should point the finger at those responsible and demand concrete changes. It is important to understand that inequality is not a problem that affects only a part of the population, but that it is a problem that permeates all dimensions of society. This implies that, as journalists, we must be attentive to the various ways in which inequality manifests itself in our societies, from racial and gender discrimination to lack of access to education, health and housing.

In this sense, it is crucial that journalism pays attention to the voices of those affected by inequality, and that we can tell their stories in an empathetic and respectful way. This means going out into the streets and neighborhoods and active presence in the most vulnerable communities. We cannot talk about inequality if we are not willing to listen to those who suffer it first hand.

Finally, as journalists, it is important that we are critical of our own work and that we are willing to reflect on our professional practices. We must question our own assumptions and biases and be open to new perspectives and approaches. Inequality is a complex and multifaceted problem and we can only tackle it effectively if we are willing to learn. (OR)