Freedom of the press is deteriorating in America due to government actions and criminal violence, with sixteen journalists having been killed in the last semester of the year, according to the Interamerican Press Society (SIP), after the conclusion of the 65th Assembly in Buenos Aires.

The final document, finalized after five days of deliberations, spoke about "the action coordinated by the governments to control the press and the lack of prestige that the highest government officials give the media."

The institution chose, at the end of the assembly, Alejandro Aguirre as its new president, to replace Enrique Santos Calderón, from a Bogotá, Colombia newspaper.

"We are fighting against an international movement that is trying to stifle freedom of expression, and it is not the first time," said Aguirre when he assumed the post.

The new head of the Society also said that "the political regiments that do not respect the freedom of the press are not democratic."

"The advances are hindered by violence against journalists, the proliferation of legislative mechanisms and arbitrary judicial decisions, within an atmosphere that debilitates democracy, and this all serves to threaten journalists and the media," added the organization.

The editors spoke about their "worries" about the crimes against eight journalists in Mexico, three in Honduras, two in Guatemala, two in Colombia and one in El Salvador in the last months.

Also, the institution criticized the brakes put on some media law bills relating to the public's access to information, such as is the case in El Salvador and Bolivia, and it also mentioned countries such as Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico, whose governments do not apply existing measures adequately.

Bolivian President Evo Morales rejected these criticisms, asking the organization to "educate" its journalists who disrespect him and the Bolivian people.

In addition, Ecuador's Communication Minister Fernando Alvarado, said that the Press Society "does not have the morals or ethics to talk about internal issues" in these nations.