Argentina's ultra-liberal President Javier Milei announced on Friday the closure of the public press agency Télam, which he described as the “propaganda agency” of former Peronist President Cristina Kirchner.
“We will close the Télam agency, which has been used as a propaganda agency for the Kirchnerists in recent decades,” Milei said in a speech to parliament, without giving details.
In February, Mr. Milei's government announced that it intended to “change the organic and functional structure” of all public media, including Télam and national radio and television.
Founded in 1945, Télam employs more than 700 people and broadcasts around 500 national news reports, 200 photos, video and radio content every day.
According to its website, Télam is “the only agency in the country with a network of correspondents in all Argentine provinces and has numerous cooperation agreements with international agencies.”
The agency also states on its website that it has been the target of closure attempts under presidents Carlos Menem, Fernando de la Rua and Mauricio Macri. In 2018, due to restructuring, there were 357 dismissals, some of which were subsequently overturned by the courts.