May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Perfil SA, Argentina's second-largest media company, sued the country's government, alleging it violated press freedoms by withholding advertising from media it considers critical, company president Jorge Fontevecchia said.
The lawsuit, which is the first by a media outlet against President Nestor Kirchner's government, demands the government ends its policy of `discrimination' against Perfil, Fontevecchia said.
``Those are pressures that seek to silence Perfil,'' Fontevecchia told journalists in Buenos Aires. ``That behavior is not compatible with the constitutional right to free speech. We are trying to set a judicial precedent so as to prevent this behavior from escalating.'
Perfil publishes magazines, including Noticias and Caras, two of Argentina's most popular weekly magazines and one newspaper. The company doesn't receive any advertising from the government, Fontevecchia said. Argentina's government spent 127.5 million pesos ($41.31 million) in advertising government actions in the media last year.
The Inter-American Press Association said January 16 the Argentine government has a `disrespectful attitude toward press freedoms.'' Journalists, including Hector D'Amico, editor-in- chief of La Nacion, the country's second-largest circulation newspaper, issued statements supporting Perfil's decision to sue the government and condemning its attitude toward the media.
Jorge Nunez, spokesman for President Nestor Kirchner, declined to comment.
