The restoration of democratic political systems, the reconstruction of solid institutions and the spreading of a culture attentive to citizens' rights are processes that have been redrawing the map of Latin America. These are subtle gestures, but very relevant regarding the construction of a new history for this region that in the last century was one of the major antidemocratic laboratories of the planet. It is true that Latin America is far from the political stability established for decades

more »

... in North American and European countries, for example. However, the present reality among Latin Americans is already much diff erent from the one observed in the 1960s and 1980s, marked by disturbances in their political systems. In that period, most of the Latin countries underwent military interventions and dictatorial regimes. ABSTRACT Media watchers are recent actors on the Latin American media scene, including the Brazilian one. However, there are examples of monitoring activity spread around the entire continent. Over and above contributing to the improvement of mass media, the observatories help to diff use a culture of critical consumption of information. That contributes to the development of democracy by promoting values such as transparency, freedom and citizenship. This article refl ects, initially, on the conditions of the Brazilian media market. Following that, it evaluates the obstacles to the dissemination of a media criticism culture. At a third moment, the focus is amplifi ed and a profi le of Latin American media watchers is provided, emphasizing characteristics in common and aspects that distinguish them. in Communication from the University of Navarra (Spain). She works at the University of Piura (Peru), developing research regarding the analysis of radio broadcasting genres and relations between media and society.