El Diario de Hoy

Salvadoran conservative-right

Background

El Diario de Hoy was founded on May 2, 1936, by Napoleón Viera Altamirano and his wife Mercedes Madriz de Altamirano in San Salvador. It has remained under continuous family ownership and operation through Editorial Altamirano Madriz, S.A. for nearly 90 years. The paper has long maintained a conservative, right-leaning editorial stance, favoring the most conservative sectors of Salvadoran business and political life. During the 1980s it was a sharp critic of Christian Democrat president José Napoleón Duarte; from 1989 onward it broadly supported the ARENA governments and opposed the FMLN and the broader Salvadoran left. Under President Nayib Bukele, El Diario de Hoy shifted into a more adversarial role: Bukele publicly accused the paper, alongside La Prensa Gráfica and other outlets, of lying and running an orchestrated campaign against his government. The outlet and one of its journalists also faced a $10 million lawsuit from a businessman over republished investigative reporting, a case that press-freedom groups said produced a chilling effect on its newsroom. Facing a shrinking print market and Bukele's hostile media environment, the paper ended its print edition on March 28, 2026, converting entirely to a digital platform. Despite its conservative roots, El Diario de Hoy has at times acted as an independent check on executive power when Salvadoran governments—regardless of party—have come under scrutiny.

Sources

1. El Diario de Hoy – Wikipedia
2. El Salvador – Media Landscapes (print)
3. A culture of silence threatens press freedom under El Salvador President Bukele – CPJ
4. El Diario de Hoy cierra su edición impresa tras 90 años – El Salvador.com
5. El Diario de Hoy – Muck Rack
6. Salvadorean president's alarming hostility towards independent media – RSF

Profile compiled 2026-09-09; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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