''La República'' () is a Peruvian newspaper based in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It is one of the two main national daily newspapers sold all over the country since it was founded on November 16, 1981.

History

Founding and early history

The paper was founded in 1981 by Gustavo Mohme Llona, a former member of the

Peruvian Congress The Congress of the Republic of Peru () is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the Constitution of Peru, the President of Peru can be removed by Congress without cause, ...

. Peruvian

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Guillermo Thorndike Guillermo Thorndike Losada (April 25, 1940 – March 9, 2009) was a Peruvian journalist and writer, who helped to found several important newspapers within Peru. Thorndike helped to found ''La República'', one of the country's main national daili ...

served as the newspaper's founding

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and had previous experience working for many newspapers in Peru. Under Mohme's leadership, the newspaper was against the candidacy of

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

in the

1990 Peruvian general election General elections were held in Peru on 8 April 1990, with a second round of the presidential elections on 10 June.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p454 This exercise was to elect the President of t ...

Fujimori administration

''La República'' was also the main newspaper in opposition to the government of President

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

, who was in office from 1990 to 2000, reporting on illegal actions performed by the government,

Peruvian Armed Forces The Peruvian Armed Forces () are the military services of Peru, comprising independent Army, Navy and Air Force components. Their primary mission is to safeguard the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any threat ...

and intelligence agencies. During his government, journalists from the newspaper faced violence and were placed under surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (SIN), which would reportedly publish "libelous" articles in the chicha press attacking Llona and press workers. The newspaper was seized by the military during the 1992 Peruvian self-coup and censored, though once staff regained control of their facilities, they printed a blank edition of the newspaper in protest. In April 1997, deputy editor of ''La República'' Blanca Rosales had two armed men break into her car and held her at gunpoint while they drove her through the streets of Lima, threatening to kill her. The incident occurred at a time when other journalists were violently threatened following controversial reporting, with ''La República'' publishing a story that the intelligence group of the

Peruvian Army The Peruvian Army (, abbreviated EP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions include assistance in s ...

had tortured individuals in the days before Rosales was attacked. Mohme would die in 2000 and Grupo La República would then be owned by Momhe's son, Gustavo Adolfo Mohme Seminario.

Recent history

For the

2011 Peruvian general election General elections were held in Peru on 10 April 2011 to elect the president, the vice presidents, 130 members of Congress and five members of the Andean Parliament. As no presidential candidate received a majority in the first round, a second r ...

, the newspaper supported the presidential candidacy of

Ollanta Humala Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as president of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered to have shifted towar ...

and changed to the

Berliner Berliner is most often used to designate a citizen of Berlin, Germany Berliner may also refer to: People * Berliner (surname) Places * Berliner Lake, a lake in Minnesota, United States * Berliner Philharmonie, concert hall in Berlin, Germany ...

newspaper format that year. Vargas Llosa would also write columns for the paper, helping its popularity.

Political stance and editorial opinion

The newspaper's holding company has a

center-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

political stance with small

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

opinions, while the editorial staff posture ranges from the

center-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commonl ...

to the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

, being supportive of progressive stances. According to Associate Professor Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez of

Osaka University The , abbreviated as UOsaka or , is a List of national universities in Japan, national research university in Osaka, Japan. The university traces its roots back to Edo period, Edo-era institutions Tekijuku (1838) and Kaitokudō, Kaitokudo (1724), ...

, ''La República'', overall, is "a politically neutral outlet and one of the most important in the country".

References

External links

* – ''La República'' 1981 establishments in Peru Newspapers established in 1981

Republica Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. They reached the height of their popularity from 1996 to 1999. The band went on hiatus in 2001 and reunited in 2008. The Republica sound was described by the band as " technopop p ...

Mass media in Lima {{Peru-newspaper-stub