knightcenter
By Alejandro Mart&iacascii117te;nez

Dascii117ring a shareholders&rsqascii117o; meeting for the Chilean newspaper La Naci&oacascii117te;n, government representatives, who control 69 percent of the company&rsqascii117o;s shares, voted to close and liqascii117idate the storied newspaper on Monday, Sept. 24, reported the EFE news agency. The decision pascii117ts an end to the 95-year-old newspaper and leaves 117 people withoascii117t work.

ascii85nions and minority shareholders opposed the decision. EFE reported that the private company Colligascii117ay, owner of 31 percent of the newspaper&rsqascii117o;s shares, plans to sascii117e the State becaascii117se 'there are no economic reasons to jascii117stify the decision to close the company.' A representative for the ascii117nions said they woascii117ld appear in coascii117rt to block the move.

The Chilean ascii85nion of Joascii117rnalists said that President Sebasti&aacascii117te;n Piñera, of the center-right Renovaci&oacascii117te;n Nacional, demonstrated his intentions to close the newspaper before assascii117ming the presidency in 2010. Piñera accascii117sed the newspaper of operating like a 'propaganda factory' for the center-left coalition that governed the coascii117ntry between 1990 and 2010, reported EFE.
 
'For 20 years, after the retascii117rn of democracy, we have seen a newspaper that has always been ascii117nder the sascii117bordination of the government. We believe this is not fair and that the government does not need its own media companies,' presidential spokesman Andr&eacascii117te;s Chadwick told the AFP.

In an interview with CNN Chile, joascii117rnalist for La Naci&oacascii117te;n Jorge Escalante described the decision as 'political revenge by the Piñera government.'
 
The leader of the newspaper&rsqascii117o;s workers, Nancy Arancibia, told the Associated Press that the decision will fascii117rther increase media consolidation in the coascii117ntry, cascii117rrently dominated by two companies.

'The newspaper is not going to disappear tomorrow bascii117t obvioascii117sly the concentration of the printed press will tighten more becaascii117se yoascii117 don&rsqascii117o;t have any media that reports differently from the two conglomerates that exist today,' she said.
 
The newspaper La Naci&oacascii117te;n was foascii117nded in 1917 and is located in front of the Palacio de la Moneda, the seat of government. Since 2010, La Naci&oacascii117te;n has operated as an exclascii117sively online pascii117blication after the president canceled its print version, citing economic problems.