157

Title

Pando de Mercado v. Gente Grossa SRL

Date

22/12/2020

Country

ARGENTINA (South America)

Adjudication body

Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina (Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación de Argentina)

Territorial scope

Domestic

Case number

63667/2012/CS1

Main themes

Defamation
Respect for private life

Type of expression

Newspaper, magazine, or other periodical
Parody or pastiche
Photograph, photomontage, or manipulated image
Political humour
Sexual, LGBTQ+, or gender humour

Branch of law

Civil Law

Decision direction

Expands expression

Outcome

Exonerated

Relation to previous decision

Disagreement

Speaker

Journalist, columnist, or media worker
Media outlet, company, or group

Target

Gender_Woman
Public figure

Link to case

Link to analysis

Summary

Revista Barcelona, an Argentine magazine, published a photomontage in which the face of Maria Cecilia Pando de Mercado was superimposed on the bound and naked body of another woman.
This satirical representation referred to Pando de Mercado protesting her husband’s conviction. He was an Argentine military officer convicted of crimes against humanity and she protested with other convicted officers’ wives, by chaining herself to a State building.
The magazine maintained that it did nothing more than publish the news through satire and parody. The Court concluded that the publication of the photomontage and the phrases did not violate Pando de Mercado’s right to honour as it constituted a political criticism and was protected under the Constitutional rights to freedom of expression.