Informe Nº: 04/02/2014
The initial permissiveness for a single economic group to achieve an exaggerated media concentration and the subsequent untimely interventions aimed at correcting this distortion, demonstrate the absence of a modern and effective state. The cost of this institutional degradation is enormous. For this reason, a broad political agreement among all political parties should be reached to rebuild the state with emphasis on sound designs of regulatory frameworks, independent control bodies and professional staff.
In the last update of the World Bank Doing Business Report, Argentina appears number 126th in the rank, near countries such as Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya and Bangladesh, and even farther away from Latin American countries who have been showing progress in their economic and social indicators in recent years, as is the case of Chile (34°), Peru (42°), Colombia (43°) and Uruguay (88°). Another ranking, the one done by the World Economic Forum, places Argentina in the 94th position among 144 countries. In this ranking, in areas such as “judicial independence” Argentina is located in position 133° and in "favoritism in decisions of government officials" is located 143° among 144 countries.
These rankings show an approximation in issues that are difficult to measure with rigorous objectivity. But beyond subjectivities and ambiguities, when a country is systematically placed in lagged positions, as Argentina is, it certainly points out that the country may be suffering a costly institutional degradation.
A very enlightening testimony is what has been happening with the so-called Ley de Medios (Media Law). According to information belonging to the Clarin Groups’ 2012 Annual Report and INDEC, this economic group comprises:
· 27 media companies out in which 20 they have a majority of shares.
· 1.5 million Internet subscribers that represent 14% of the total market.
· 3.3 million Cable subscribers that represent 60% of the total market.
These data confirms that the size of this group is indeed enormous and, associated with it, possesses a considerable media influence capacity. The fact that such concentration process was made possible in the absence of regulatory framework and appropriate control agencies should not be overlooked. If at that time there had been, as in other countries, a more professional and efficient public sector, institutional mechanism preventing these concentration would have been activated.
The same absence of rational and transparent rules that at some point benefited Clarín Group is now threatening their property rights. Like it happened in 2005, when the ruling party extended by a discretionary decision licenses to Clarín Group, now, with a decision as discretionary as the last one, the same party takes measures aimed at imposing economic harm to the Group. This is a very illustrative example of the costs that emerge from the poor institutional quality prevailing in Argentina and what international rankings try to warn about.
The forced decentralization of the Group is presented, with arrogance, in the official discourse as a greater "presence of the State". This is the same mistake often incurred when trying to give a positive connotation to the fact that government increased spending and the tax burden at record levels with an overwhelming lack of strategic direction in the use of public funds. Also when the government uses public propaganda to destroy the opposition and when they arbitrarily distribute the advertising budget. Similarly, irrational and unenforceable regulations are operating that allow partisans to abuse companies in front of television cameras. More than the presence, these actions denote the absence of the state undermining the democratic system.
The degradation made explicit by the Media Law is just a testimony of a generalized process. It is also visible in, for example, the public transport system, social security, energy and Justice; in nationalization like the ones from Aguas Argentinas, Aerolineas Argentinas and YPF. Hence, it is highly important that a broad consensus among all political parties is reached in order to achieve a comprehensive agreement to end these decadent practices, and give lead to a deep and genuine reconstruction of the state.
