Expreso ceases print publication in Ecuador after 53 years, continues in digital format

The Ecuadorian newspaper Expreso ceased circulation in paper after 53 years of uninterrupted publication. Its publishing company, Gráficos Nacionales S. A. (Granasa), will maintain the medium in digital format; Extra, the other newspaper in the group, will continue to be published both in print and online.

The last print edition was released on October 8, 2026. The decision coincides with a financial review of Granasa and with an extraordinary shareholders' meeting convened for October 13, in which the company's economic situation and the possible sale of assets and brands would be analyzed.

What Expreso's management explained

The director, Carlos Martínez, described the past year as the most difficult for the newspaper. According to his statements, some advertisers stopped contracting advertising after receiving pressures, while the medium faced audits, accusations, and judicial processes. Martínez stated that those costs and the drop in advertising revenue made it difficult to maintain the print edition.

The director also claimed that newspaper vendors were harassed and that the company was intervened by the Superintendency of Companies. Granasa has requested that this intervention be lifted in order to sell real estate and meet its obligations to suppliers and workers, according to Martínez's explanation. These are allegations by the company and its management; the sources consulted do not independently establish that state actions were motivated by the newspaper's editorial line.

The publisher has linked the intervention to a request from the Technical Secretariat for Real Estate Management of the Public Sector (Inmobiliar), which alleged a shareholding of 2.56 %. Granasa also reported that an attempt was made to take control of 40 % of its shares due to alleged irregularities in a transfer carried out years ago. These statements describe the company's position and do not equate to a judicial determination regarding the ownership of the shares or the legality of the actions.

Reactions and concern for pluralism

The Inter-American Press Association (IPA) regretted the end of the print edition and called on authorities to guarantee conditions for journalistic practice. Its president, Pierre Manigault, said that the context of pressures reported by Granasa could not be ignored. Martha Ramos, president of the IPA's Press Freedom and Information Commission, stated that the economic deterioration of a medium should not be analyzed in isolation from reports of administrative, economic, and judicial pressures.

Fundamedios pointed out that the closure occurs after more than a year of conflicts between the State and Granasa. The organization mentioned tax audits, raids linked to an investigation for alleged evasion, corporate disputes, and regulatory interventions. It added that it had not been confirmed how many workers might be affected.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Observatory of Rights and Justice also expressed concern. The latter characterized the closure as a consequence of direct and indirect attacks against freedom of expression. These are assessments by those organizations; the available sources do not substantiate an official decision confirming that the reported actions had that purpose.

A format change, not the total closure of the medium

Expreso will continue operating in digital, although Martínez anticipated that it will do so with a reduced team. The change ends the print circulation of the newspaper, not its online news activity. For now, the published information also does not specify how many jobs might change or disappear, nor what will be the result of the shareholders' meeting or the request to lift the intervention.

For the media sector, the case brings together two dimensions that should be distinguished: a business decision related to the sustainability of the print edition and the reports of state pressures made by the company and supported as a reason for concern by press organizations. The digital continuity of Expreso and the financial future of Granasa will be matters distinct from the loss of its print edition.