The EPTIC Journal – International Electronic Journal of Political Economy of Information, Communication, and Culture is inviting submissions for the thematic dossier Communication Policies in Argentina: Conflicts, Resistance, and Democratic Crisis, to be published in the third edition of 2025 (vol. 27, no. 2, Apr-Aug). The dossier will be coordinated by Prof. Lic. Florencia Guzmán (National University of San Luis) and Prof. Dr. Ezequiel Rivero (CONICET, National University of Quilmes). Interested authors must submit their papers by April 30, 2025.

The EPTIC Journal – International Electronic Journal of Political Economy of Information, Communication, and Culture is inviting submissions for the thematic dossier Communication Policies in Argentina: Conflicts, Resistance, and Democratic Crisis, to be published in the third edition of 2025 (vol. 27, no. 2, Apr-Aug). The dossier will be coordinated by Prof. Lic. Florencia Guzmán (National University of San Luis) and Prof. Dr. Ezequiel Rivero (CONICET, National University of Quilmes). Interested authors must submit their papers by April 30, 2025.

Communication policies in Argentina, particularly those related to the broadcasting sector, have historically favored the development of the private commercial sector. Since the enactment of Decree-Law 22.285 in 1980, during the military dictatorship, the primacy of the commercial logic in structuring the media system was consolidated, along with the exclusion of nonprofit broadcasters. During the Menem administration (1990s), this model was further deepened through an initial stage of public media privatization, followed by a process of internationalization and denationalization of companies in the sector (Albornoz & Hernández, 2009).

The Néstor Kirchner administration (2003–2007) was marked by contradictions, as policies enabled both increased concentration in the pay television sector and the initial legal recognition of nonprofit organizations as actors in audiovisual communication.

Starting in 2008, under the administrations of Cristina Fernández (2007–2015), initiatives aimed at democratizing communications were promoted. Among them, the most emblematic was the Audiovisual Communication Services Law 26.522 (Segura, 2016). However, this regulation faced intense judicialization and resistance from the business sector, resulting in limited implementation and moderate impact on the market structure, which remained highly concentrated. During this period, the State expanded its involvement in satellite production, state-managed data centers, and the expansion of connectivity infrastructure, including the creation of the Red Federal de Fibra Óptica (Baladron, 2018), among other policies aimed at universalizing access to ICTs.

The rise of Macrism (2015–2019) represented a "restorative" process that reversed much of the regulatory framework and policies aimed at the sector (Monje, Rivero & Zanotti, 2017a & b; Rivero & Zanotti, 2017). This shift introduced a pro-market approach in key areas such as audiovisual media, telecommunications, and public media (Loreti, De Charras, Lozano & Baladrón, 2021; Becerra & Mastrini, 2021).

During this period, media concentration intensified, ownership structures shifted, and essential regulations were dismantled. Additionally, pre-existing processes such as digital convergence, audience migration, corporate concentration, and increased labor precarization in the sector accelerated alongside the policies adopted during these years.

Overall, the administration of the Frente de Todos (2019–2023) did not reverse these setbacks nor promote an active agenda in communication policy (Krakowiak & Mastrini, 2020), marking a break from the oscillating dynamic between progressive and liberal models that had characterized the 2007–2019 period. However, during this time, public infrastructure expansion plans for connectivity remained in place.

With the inauguration of the far-right government of Javier Milei (2023–), new elements have emerged, alongside reminiscences of the 1990s and the Cambiemos administration (2015–2019). In his first year in office and with little Congressional oversight, the Executive adopted measures with a profound impact on the sector, representing significant setbacks, attacks on democracy, the weakening of protections for vulnerable sectors, an exponential increase in profits for the most concentrated actors, State capture, market deregulation, and the defunding of public information and communication companies. Without aiming to be exhaustive, some of these measures include:

• Intervention in ENACOM, dissolving its board of directors and closing provincial offices, weakening regulatory oversight and user and audience rights protection.
• Intervention in Radio y Televisión Argentina Sociedad del Estado (RTA S.E.), the entity responsible for managing the country’s main public media outlets.
• Closure of the national news agency Télam, previously subjected to attacks and dismantling during the Macri administration (Suárez, 2019), now transformed into a state advertising management entity.
• Amendment to the Access to Public Information Law, restricting government data availability.
• Dissolution of the Universal Service Fund (FSU), generating uncertainty about the future of connectivity policies and efforts to reduce the digital divide in the country.

In this context of rapid change, framed by broader transformations that transcend national borders — such as the growing platformization of communication and the expansion of generative artificial intelligence — this dossier aims to bring together research analyzing the evolution and current state of communication policies in Argentina from the critical perspective of Political Economy of Communication (PEC).

For this call for papers, we welcome submissions that critically engage with the following topics:

• Evolution and current state of communication policies in Argentina.
• Communication policies in far-right governments.
• Theoretical and methodological debates in PEC in Argentina and Latin America.
• Current policies for community and nonprofit media.
• Civil society and its communication demands amid State restructuring.
• Official advertising policy at national and subnational levels.
• The role of global platforms in local audiovisual markets.
• Regulatory debates and initiatives on digital platforms.
• Regulation and impact of artificial intelligence in communication and media.
• Public-service and state-run television and radio models.

• Structure of information and communication markets and concentration
• Labor precarization in the context of digitalization and platforms.
• Connectivity and universal service policies.
• Public telecommunications and connectivity infrastructure.

References

ALBORNOZ, Luis; HERNÁNDEZ, Pablo. La radiodifusión entre 1995-1999: concentración, desnacionalización y ausencia del control público. Em: Mastrini, Guillermo (ed.). Mucho ruido, pocas leyes. Economía y políticas de comunicación en la Argentina (1920-2007) (pp. 261-290). 2da ed. Buenos Aires: La Crujía, 2009.

BALADRON, Mariela. El Plan Nacional de Telecomunicaciones Argentina Conectada (2010-2015) en el marco de las políticas públicas de universalización del acceso a internet. Master's dissertation. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Buenos Aires, 2018.

BECERRA, Martin; MASTRINI, Guillermo (comp.). Restauración y Cambio. Las políticas de comunicación de Macri (2015-2019). Ediciones SiPreBa: Buenos Aires, 2021.

KRAKOWIAK, Fernando; MASTRINI, Guillermo ¿Política de comunicación o DNU?. Observacom.org. 03 de set. 2020. https://www.observacom.org/politica-de-comunicacion-o-dnu/

LORETI, Damián, de CHARRAS, Diego, LOZANO, Luis, BALADRON, Mariela. Futuro por Pasado. Regresión de derechos en las políticas de comunicación del gobierno de Mauricio Macri. IEALC, UBASociales: Buenos Aires, 2021.

MONJE, Daniela, RIVERO, Ezequiel, ZANOTTI, Juan Martin. Nuevas disputas por el Derecho a la Comunicación en Argentina: el giro a la derecha a partir de diciembre de 2015. Em: Sierra, F. & Vallejo, R. (eds.). Derecho a la comunicación. Procesos regulatorios y Democracia en América Latina y Ecuador. 2017 Ediciones CIESPAL, 2017a, pp 65-96.

MONJE, Daniela, RIVERO, Ezequiel, ZANOTTI, Juan Martin. Contrarreforma en la TV Pública de Argentina: Cambios regulatorios, institucionalidad afectada y pérdida de centralidad. Revista Eletrônica Internacional de Economia Política da Informacão da Comunicacão e da Cultura - EPTIC. Vol. 19, nº2, mayo-agosto 2017b. Avaiable at: https://seer.ufs.br/index.php/eptic/article/view/7225

RIVERO, Ezequiel, ZANOTTI, Juan Martin. Debates hacia la Ley de Comunicaciones Convergentes en la Argentina: de las audiencias públicas al comité de expertos. Revista Eletrônica Internacional de Economia Política da Informacão da Comunicacão e da Cultura - EPTIC. Vol. 19, nº1, jan-abr. 2017, p. 170-183. Avaiable at: https://seer.ufs.br/index.php/eptic/issue/view/504

SEGURA, María Soledad et al. Los medios sin fines de lucro entre la ley audiovisual y los decretos. Estrategias, desafíos y debates en el escenario 2009-2015. Editorial de la UNC, libro digital, Córdoba, 2016.

SUÁREZ, Mariano. Télam: el hecho maldito del periodismo argentino: una historia narrada por sus trabajadores. Mil Campanas: Buenos Aires, 2019.