El Líbero is a Chilean

online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newspa ...

formed in 2014. Its founders include journalist and former editor of ''Investigation and Politics'' of ''

El Mercurio ''El Mercurio'' (known online as ''El Mercurio On-Line'', ''EMOL'') is a Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. Its Santiago edition is considered the country's newspaper of record and it is considered the oldest daily in t ...

'' Eduardo Sepúlveda, the commercial engineer Carlos Kubick O., José Antonio Guzmán A., former Chilean minister of sports Gabriel Ruiz-Tagle, and economist

Hernán Büchi Hernán Alberto Büchi Buc (; born March 6, 1949) is a Chilean economist who served as minister of finance of the Pinochet government. In 1989 he ran unsuccessfully for president with support of Chilean right-wing parties. Early life Büchi wa ...

. Despite its denounced bias—identified as

neoconservative Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and coun ...

by scholar Luis Navarro—the newspaper has received awards for some of its content, such as the investigation by journalist Emily Avendaño into links between Brazilian conglomerate

Odebrecht Odebrecht S.A. (), officially known as Novonor, is a Brazilian conglomerate, headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, consisting of diversified businesses in the fields of engineering, construction, chemicals and petrochemicals. The company w ...

and Venezuelan president

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...

, which was recognized by the

Inter American Press Association The Inter American Press Association (IAPA; Spanish: ''Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa'', SIP) is a press advocacy group representing major media organizations in North America, South America and the Caribbean. It is made up of more than 1,300 ...

in 2018.

Origins

According to Sepúlveda, the publication's name, ''El Líbero'', is inspired by the Italian word ''Libero'', which means "free". Additionally, in an interview with Canal 13, Sepúlveda mentioned the Roman god of freedom,

Liber In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...

, whose name refers to being able to move freely, one of the publication's goals.

Ideology and criticism

In its beginnings, the periodical was popularly known as the "right-wing

CIPER Ciper also known as CIPER Chile is a Chilean alternative media of digital journalism. Ciper is the Spanish acronym for "Journalistic Investigation Center" (''Centro de Investigación Periodística''). It is a nonprofit organization A nonp ...

Centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

politician

Álvaro Elizalde Álvaro Antonio Elizalde Soto (born 15 October 1969) is a Chilean politician and lawyer. He was minister of Michelle Bachelet. On 11 March 2022, he was elected President of the Senate in the LVI legislative period of the Chilean Congress The L ...

described the outlet as a "UDI pamphlet", in reference to the right-wing party

Unión Demócrata Independiente The Independent Democratic Union (''Unión Demócrata Independiente'', UDI) is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with A ...

. The

far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...

newspaper '' La Izquierda Diario'' has described ''El Líbero'' as

reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...

. ''

El Mostrador El Mostrador is a Chilean online newspaper, founded on 1 March 2000. Its current president is Germán Olmedo Acedvedo and its director is Federico Joannon Errázuriz. History ''El Mostrador'' was launched on 1 March 2000 and is Chile's first exclu ...

'' has linked the newspaper to former President

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

, noting that two of his former ministers, Gabriel Ruiz-Tagle and

Cristián Larroulet Cristián Patricio Larroulet Vignau (born 1953 in Temuco) was the Minister General Secretariat of the Presidency of Chile under President Sebastián Piñera. He currently serves as the Head of Advisors to the Presidency of the Republic in the se ...

, are among the newspaper's owners. After Piñera came to power, members of his government, such as

Mario Desbordes Mario Guillermo Desbordes Jiménez (born 15 October 1968) is a Chilean politician and former police officer of Carabineros de Chile. He became the Minister of Defense in July 2020. Desbordes previously served as a member of the Chamber of Dep ...

, criticized the influence Larroulet had on ''El Líbero'' in attempting to exert pressure on the president to implement libertarian policies.

Notable columnists

Axel Kaiser Axel Phillip Kaiser Barents-Von Hohenhagen (born 4 July 1981) is a Chilean writer, lawyer and political scientist. A Mont Pelerin Society member, he has collaborated as a columnist for ''El Mercurio'', ''El Líbero'' and ''Diario Financiero'' ...

José Rodríguez Elizondo José Alejandro Vladimir Rodríguez Elizondo (born 10 June 1936) is a Chilean lawyer and diplomat who was awarded with the National Prize of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2021. He finished his Bachelor of Arts in laws in 1960 at the Univers ...

* Alejandro San Francisco

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Líbero, El 2014 establishments in Chile Chilean news websites Internet properties established in 2014 Publications established in 2014 Spanish-language websites

Origins

Ideology and criticism

Notable columnists

See also

Further reading

References

External links