Ecuador President Rafael Correa’s high-stakes showdown with the media could entirely prevent local reporters from covering presidential elections in the South American nation next January.

 

That is the interpretation of journalism and human rights groups of a vaguely-worded new law, which took effect earlier this month, preventing supposed media bias in electoral coverage.

 

The controversial piece of legislation is the latest chapter in a series of legal and political assaults on the media by the Correa administration that critics claim is the worst government threat to freedom of expression in the Western hemisphere.