By Michael Warren for The Associated PressArgentina's booksellers are accusing the government of censorship, saying more than a million imported books have stacked up in customs as authorities try to rebuild the country's printing houses.
The dispute is about commerce, not ideology, and publishing houses are only the latest sector of the economy to experience the strong-arm tactics of a government determined to rebuild domestic industrial capacity.
President Cristina Fernandez didn't directly address the customs controversy Thursday night when she inaugurated the new Museum of the Book and the Language. But she said her government is dedicated to restoring Argentina's ability to take care of itself in an uncertain world.
"The world is going in one direction and at times it seems like we're going to the opposite, but this is the necessary path to recover a country that already knew how to do things," she said.
The newspaper Clarin published a lengthy article Thursday describing how in order to liberate their books from customs' impound warehouses, publishers have been forced to meet with representatives of Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno and present plans for shifting their production to domestic printing houses.
The article said 1.6 million books remain impounded.
Clarin said publishing executives were too afraid of government retaliation to comment by name, but complain privately that Argentine printers either lack quality or are more expensive than overseas competitors. They also contend Argentine printers...Read Full Article
