Region: Ecuador president hints at eliminating print newspapers to save environment

Rafael Correa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(AFP) Ecuador President Rafael Correa Monday proposed holding a referendum to eliminate print newspapers, as an environmental measure.

The president made the suggestion after drawing criticism for giving a green light to oil exploration in an unspoilt Amazon nature reserve.

“Well, if we have a popular referendum, we propose digital-only newspapers to save paper and avoid so many trees being cut,” Correa said on his Twitter account.

Diego Cornejo, director of the Ecuadoran Association of Newspaper Editors, said it was too soon to say if Correa was serious.

Correa has often been at war in the courts and elsewhere with the country’s independent, privately owned newspapers.