# Ladder: prior restraint, in South America

An order or rule that stops something from being published before it appears, rather than penalising it afterwards. Examples are boards that must approve articles, books or films before release, court injunctions against publication, and rules that require officials to review material before it is published.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

Narrow with ?stage= (restrict, pressure, punish, silence, eliminate), ?continent=, ?from= and ?to= (year or date).

## Silence

Removing outlets or channels from the public sphere: closures, licence withdrawals, forced sales, blocking and shutdowns, prior restraint, nationalisation.

| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1939 | [Brazil](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/br) ([RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Getúlio Vargas](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/getulio-vargas) | President Getúlio Vargas created the Department of Press and state messaging in 1939 during Brazil's Estado Novo dictatorship, giving the government direct control over what newspapers, radio and film could publish. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1939-brazil-vargas-creates-dip) | Reversed (1 January 1945) | 2 |
| 13 December 1968 | [Brazil](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/br) ([RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Artur da Costa e Silva](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/artur-costa-e-silva) | On the night of December 13, 1968, Brazil's military government, led by President Artur da Costa e Silva, decreed the Fifth Institutional Act, suspending constitutional guarantees and recessing the national Congress. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1968-brazil-institutional-act-five-press-controls) | Unknown | 2 |

## Eliminate

Long imprisonment, killing, disappearance or forced exile of journalists, with state involvement as the sources state it.

| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 24 March 1976 | [Argentina](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ar) ([RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Jorge Rafael Videla](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/jorge-videla) | Hours after seizing power on March 24, 1976, Argentina's military junta, led by General Jorge Videla, issued Communiqué No. 19, threatening up to 10 years in prison for reporting favorable to groups it called subversive. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1976-argentina-junta-press-decrees) | Reversed (10 December 1983) | 2 |

Download this ladder. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint?continent=south-america&format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint.json?continent=south-america
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint.md?continent=south-america

All ladders: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders. United States chapter: https://thewaronnews.com/united-states

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint?continent=south-america. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.