Villegas shared a letter from Argentine officials noting that the decision was “based on the need to renew the program listings for our Experimental System of Digital Terrestrial Television and Satellite Television System.”
In March, Argentina’s Minister of Media and Public Content, Hernán Lombardi, announced that Argentina would pull out of teleSUR, meaning broadcasts would no longer be shown on private cable packages or Open Digital Television, claiming the network lacked plurality.
At the time, Villegas noted that the editorial line of the network was non-negotiable and that the decision was politically motivated.
She called on the Argentine government to enter a debate regarding the issue stating, “Let’s review teleSUR programming but in a truthful way.”
Speaking to the Mexican daily La Jornada, Villegas explained that despite the conservative restoration underway in the country, she did not expect such vindictive measures, which seek to erase the rights for which so many have struggled.
The Latin American multi-state network, teleSUR, is included in packages of more than 90 cable operators and has agreements with five provincial Argentine television stations. Up until February 29, 2016, teleSUR broadcasts reached more than 20 million viewers in addition to more than 8 million subscribers.
