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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Mexico Is Dangerous for Journalists


Mexico is one of the countries where journalists “face the most danger” from criminal organizations, resulting in the murders and disappearances of many members of the media, the president and CEO of the Mexico City daily El Universal, Juan Francisco Ealy, said Monday.

The newspaper executive discussed the situation for journalists in Mexico before the start of the 2nd Ibero-American Scientific Journalism Conference in Aviles, a city in northern Spain.

Mexico has one of the highest crime rates against members of the media, “much higher than in war zones,” Ealy said.

Ealy, who is also chairman of the Committee Against Impunity of the Inter American Press Association, or IAPA, said journalists should be protected while doing their jobs.

“Many journalists no longer want to write about organized crime because of the great danger it poses,” Ealy said.

“If one of them dies while doing their duty or in an attempt on their life,” the responsibility of the rest of the media industry is to find a way to help and continue investigating “what the comrade was doing,” the newspaper executive said.

Mexico has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists in the past few years, and the most dangerous country for members of the media in Latin America, non-governmental organizations say.

Hundreds of journalists and media industry workers took to the streets of Mexico City on Sept. 11 to demand that officials clear up the recent killings of two female reporters and punish those responsible for attacks on journalists.

Journalists have increasingly been targeted in recent years by drug traffickers and other organized crime groups, especially in northern Mexico.

Media members must also contend with long-running abuse at the hands of federal, state and local officials.

Since 2000, more than 70 journalists have been murdered and 13 others have gone missing in Mexico, the National Human Rights Commission, or CNDH, Mexico’s equivalent of an ombudsman’s office, said.

Source: EFE

7 comments:

  1. Journalists know where they stand, it has never been a surprise. Mexico as corrupt as it is, you better be on the right payroll if you know what is good for you before you decide to print anything, sad, but true. Media beware!

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  2. The thing is, journalists are the ones with the voice. I am sure Mexicos' doctors are among the most at risk in the world just as the funeral home directors are too. I am sure bar owners in Mexico are among the most at risk bar owners around the world. They just don't have a voice. Not to mention the danger of driving a taxi or running a taco stand for that matter. This is certainly not a downplay on journalists in Mexico. They have to be some of the boldest humans anywhere and their work must be horrifying. What I am trying to say is, Mexico is on a fast track to being labeled an "uncivilized nation."

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  3. The military kills at least as many journalists as the criminals do in Mexico. In some areas the military and criminals work together to kill journalist. Also, large corporations from all over the globe kill journalist in Mexico. Its business.

    In the U.S the say as you are told's rise to the top and its one big lying fest. The corruption is so pervasive that most of the voters actually think there is a right and left politicly. Poor fools.

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  4. Maybe if we had journalists in the US with the courage of the Mexican journalists things would be different here.
    I am jealous.

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  5. @ 10:50 PM. Actually yes, there is a distinct Left and Right politically - and points in between. Denying it doesn't change that fact that indeed there are opposite worldviews and ends of the political spectrum.

    That said, despite their often funny banners attempting to show "political" positions, the majority of Cartels and gangs seem to be mostly apolitical and are interested only in generating as much money and the perks that come with it - as possible. The political interests of most of them are whatever politician or official they can buy off that helps them in their business.

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  6. @ 4:39 Of course the are different world views but both political parties are controlled by large corporations. In short the right isn't conservative and the left socially concerned. Its about money.

    The cartels are business associates of large economic interests in the United States. The trouble in Mexico is ultimately about the northerners streamlining profits. A rather simple, basic logistics study would prove the bulk of product is protected.

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