La República is a Uruguayan newspaper first published May 3, 1988, and distributed nationwide. Founded by Federico Fasano Mertens, the independent daily provides thoughtful analysis and coverage of social, political topics across Uruguay. Fasano Mertens and his brother Carlos Fasano Mertens (the newspaper’s editor) were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in May 1996 for publishing articles about alleged corruption by Paraguay’s president, prompting Amnesty International to designate both as prisoners of conscience for “peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.” The newspaper reports a digital subscription base of 120,000 users with 25 percent residing outside Uruguay, and operates with an international network of collaborators reporting from Argentina, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Australia, Italy, and the United States. La República has maintained a cooperative relationship with Chinese state media since at least 2023, with publisher Juan Blanco describing in a September 2023 People’s Daily interview how China “chose our media outlet” for a special publication on China-Uruguay diplomatic relations, sent a La República journalist for training in Beijing, and provided access to the Belt and Road News Network — a BRI news service operated by the People’s Daily and hosted on its name servers — for “first-hand information from a truthful, reliable source.” Blanco emphasized that cooperation should not be hindered by ideological differences, stating media relationships form “the first encounter” of China-Uruguay information exchange. Blanco participated in the February 2026 Belt and Road Media Cooperation Forum journalist delegation.