Puerto Rico governor slammed for coronavirus 'propaganda' as health official resigns after expletive-filled leaked audio

‘The true invisible enemy is the lack of transparency that keeps people in the dark and perpetuates total mistrust of our institutions’

Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced has been accused of dodging questions from reporters about the administration's controversial response to the pandemic. (AFP via Getty Images)

An association of journalists in Puerto Rico has accused governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and her administration of producing “propaganda” about the coronavirus pandemic, as reporters were barred from participating in weekly shows featuring government officials.

The shows were broadcast by the government-owned and taxpayer-funded Puerto Rico Corporation for Public Broadcasting, otherwise known by its Spanish initials, WIPR, and ran three times a week. They initially included journalists from various news outlets, who were invited to ask questions to health officials about the administration’s handling of the pandemic.

But that changed on Sunday, when the television network’s president said he decided only to allow WIPR-affiliated correspondents to appear on the special programming moving forward, insisting no one in the administration asked him to bar additional reporters. The controversy came a day before leaked audio was published online featuring Puerto Rico Health Department’s communications director Eric Perlloni in an expletive-laced rant against journalists.

The Puerto Rico Journalists Association’s chairwoman Damaris Suárez alleged in a statement sent to The Independent that Ms Garced’s administration was determined “to replace press conferences” with WIPR-TV’s special programmes, saying: “The true invisible enemy is the lack of transparency that keeps people in the dark and perpetuates total mistrust of our institutions.”

She added: “It is unacceptable that instead of facing and openly answering questions about the handling of the emergency, the government prefers to make propaganda in the midst of one of the worst health crises the country has faced.”

The move was met with swift criticism as media outlets and critics of Ms Garced asserted her office was involved in banning journalists from the shows. The administration has denied any involvement.

“No press or media outlet has been banned from any official government press conference,” Mariana Cobián, press secretary to Ms Garced, told The Independent, adding: “The WIPR tv shows are not press briefings. They are informative special shows produced by the tv station.”

Tensions between Puerto Rico officials and local media were as apparent as ever in the audio recording that leaked online Monday night, first reported by journalist Sandra Rodríguez Cotto.

“So the journalists keep calling,” Mr Perlloni, who later confirmed he was the voice in the recording, can be heard saying. “It’s f***ing p***ing me off.”

“I was in El Nuevo Dia, and they said that communications are in a grave state,” he added, referring to the Spanish-language newspaper. “It comes out with a nice picture and all. I think there’s a lot of bad faith from the press — they demand a lot.”

Shortly after the recording was leaked, the governor posted a statement online calling the comments “unacceptable in our administration”.

Mr Perlloni announced on Tuesday he was stepping down from his post at the health agency so as not to become a distraction during the crisis.

“That person was me,” he said about the recording. “My apologies should be directed more than anything to the journalistic class of the country whom I not only respect and admire, but who also recognise the imperative responsibility to implement one of the highest rights that protects us all, as information is an essential tool for the democratic functioning of societies and collective well-being.”

Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez (pictured above) faces mounting criticism amid her administration’s controversial response to the coronavirus pandemic (AFP via Getty Images)

The governor’s administration has faced mounting criticism in recent weeks over its response to the virus, being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union over a strict curfew the group described as “unconstitutional” and dodging questions about a $19 million purchase it made for one million Covid-19 testing kits that never arrived and were not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Ms Garced’s administration has meanwhile increasingly refused to take questions from journalists, according to CBS correspondent David Begnaud, who tweeted that he asked one of Ms Garced’s spokespeople “when she’ll hold another new conference”, to which they responded: “No idea.”

The Puerto Rico Journalists Association called for the press and public to continue receiving critical information about the virus, warning that the government’s decision “not to hold press conferences and to now eliminate what was already very limited access for journalists in those special sessions, means suppressing access to public information that every citizen has the right to know”.

“The administration of governor Wanda Vázquez has repeatedly claimed to be one of transparency and accountability,” Ms Suárez said. “However, it is their own actions that contradict such a claim.”

The island has so far only reported less than 1,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and 45 deaths. Experts have said those figures are likely far higher. They cite similar issues Puerto Rico experienced in rolling out expansive Covid-19 testing as many states did during the initial months of the pandemic, while calling for more testing across the region in order to slow the rate of transmissions and flatten the curve.