A few days ago, one of Ecuador’s most widely followed journalists, Gisella Bayona, announced that she would quit journalism due to pressure from the administration, led by right-wing President Daniel Noboa. “In recent hours, a pro-government media outlet has published serious accusations against me and my husband, attempting to link my questions about the lack of medicines in hospitals to personal interests.”

Bayona was referring to the investigations she had conducted regarding the severe and chronic shortage of medicines and medical supplies in the public health system that has plagued the country for several years. Noboa has repeatedly promised to resolve this problem, but so far there has been no solution, while the number of deaths due to a lack of public health care continues to rise.

With regard to patients with kidney problems alone, some media outlets have reported that more than 4,000 people have died due to a lack of care, a figure that has sparked significant controversy in Ecuador.

In this regard, on August 28, President Noboa said on a local radio station that he found it outrageous that a journalist (whose name he did not mention) would speak on this issue when her husband had financial interests in the medicine supply business. He also accused this journalist’s husband of having ties to former Vice President Jorge Glas, who is currently in prison.

Bayona has categorically denied the accusations and stated that the media outlet attacking her allegedly manipulated information to make her look bad. In light of this, Bayona announced her retirement from journalism: “I will not allow my family to be attacked without any basis simply because of my journalistic inquiries … Mr. President, you won. You have the power and the means to impose any narrative. I can withstand attacks against me, but I cannot put my family at risk.”

In this regard, sociologist Fernando Muñoz wrote: “What kind of world do we live in where the act of criticism ends up leading to the conclusion that remaining silent seems like a reasonable alternative? In that sense, the phrase ‘you won’ doesn’t mean that Daniel Noboa defeated Bayona in the arena of ideas through better arguments, but rather expresses the enormous asymmetry that exists between a journalist who asks questions and a political power that has at its disposal institutions, public resources, communication channels, and a digital machine capable of amplifying narratives to its advantage.”

Furthermore, Muño said: “‘Mr. President, you won,’ said Gissela Bayona before leaving journalism. That statement should be unbearable for any government that still claims to be democratic – not because the president has to share a journalist’s opinions or because the media should be exempt from criticism, but because in a democracy, the victory of those in power can never consist of getting those who hold them accountable to stop doing so out of fear.”

Other cases of alleged pressure against journalists

Bayona’s announcement has sparked widespread criticism of the government, which is accused of repressing several journalists critical of the Noboa administration. But it has also drawn applause from government supporters, who argue that Bayona clearly has a conflict of interest when reporting on the issue.

However, Bayona’s case is not the only one that has drawn criticism from journalists in Ecuador, including those from right-wing media outlets. While the censorship of left-wing journalism has become common (however dishonorable), right-wing journalism in Ecuador has, with a few exceptions, enjoyed a relatively broad scope for criticism when it has exercised that right.

But the cases of Bayona and other right-wing journalists who have had to give up journalism or have been fired from their media outlets due to alleged pressure from those in power have sparked a massive wave of criticism against the government for undermining freedom of expression.

In 2024, Cuban journalist Alondra Santiago had her visa revoked for allegedly committing acts against state security – a charge the journalist, who is close to the Correa movement, categorically denied.

Something similar happened to the Spanish-Chilean journalist Lautaro Bernat, who was deported from Ecuador while covering the protests against the Noboa administration in 2025. According to the government, the decision was based on a confidential report citing national security concerns. During the demonstrations, the NGO Fundamedios reported 31 attacks against the press.

Likewise, there have been reports of alleged pressure on private media outlets to dismiss journalists. The most emblematic case is that of Roberto Aguilar, a journalist with clear right-wing leanings and one of the country’s most celebrated editorialists, who in recent months has publicly criticized the government’s handling of the situation.

According to the lawyer for the newspaper Expreso, the Noboa administration reportedly requested that the company managing the publication dismiss Aguilar. Following this, the Superintendency of Companies reportedly intervened in the company to pressure it into changing its editorial line. Ultimately, Aguilar was dismissed from the newspaper Expreso on August 12, 2026.

Another high-profile case involved Hernán Higuera, a journalist with the country’s largest television network, Ecuavisa, who produced a series of investigative reports on the so-called Progen Case, which refers to a series of government purchases of electric generators during the Noboa administration to alleviate the severe energy crisis facing the country, and in which the prosecutor’s office alleges that the country suffered losses of nearly $100 million as a result of corruption.

After several reports, Higuera announced on television that he would stop reporting on this matter due to the pressure he was receiving. Specifically, Higuera stated that following the reports, his wife, a public official, was dismissed from her position, and his son lost his position at the medical residency program, among other consequences.

These are some of the cases that have provoked heavy criticisms of the Noboa administration, including from international organizations. The Inter-American Press Association (SIP) stated in its Chapultepec Index that Ecuador is experiencing its worst period for press freedom since 2020, with its score dropping from 46.03 to 38.42 out of 100 points, and the country being categorized as one with “High Restrictions” on press freedom.

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