This article critically reviews the type of media controls used by various countries in Central America during a transition from decades of war to a period of democratization. In doing so, it traces the strong role of central governments in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua in checking media which sought a more independent role. The article shows how advertising and other constraints of the market system have been used to restrict free speech and also have actually impeded the movement toward real democracy in each of these nations, despite trends elsewhere for more open media systems.
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