The First Thing Authoritatirans Fear, A Talk by Ramón Zamora

Monday, March 23, 2026

5:30 pm EDT/GMT-4 

Olin Language Center, Room 115

The first institutions targeted by authoritarian regimes are often journalists and independent media. When these voices are silenced, democracies lose their earliest warning system. Through the story of the persecution of renowned Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora and the creation of the Central America Independent Media Archive (CAIMA), this talk reflects on why free expression acts as society’s early warning system, and how citizen action, memory, archives, and civic technology can protect truth when power tries to erase it.
 
Ramón Zamora is an anthropologist and sociologist, and former professor at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, where he taught and researched the intersections of culture, communication, and technology. He led the design of digital formats and audience strategies at elPeriódico until the newspaper’s forced shutdown in 2023 amid the imprisonment of its director and the persecution of its newsroom. After relocating to the United States, he collaborated with the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA) and Bard College to launch the Central America Independent Media Archive (CAIMA), an initiative dedicated to preserving and safeguarding the region’s threatened independent journalism.

Supported by The Center for Civic Engagement, FLCL, Sociology, Human Rights, RIMA, and GHEA21.

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For more information, call 845-758-6822