Targeting journalists: Killing the messenger in Mexico and France

As the world followed, horrified, the development of the news regarding the killing of 12 journalists in Paris in an apparent “revenge” for criticizing the Islam, across the ocean another country faces a similar situation, but in a different fashion: in Mexico journalists are killed one at a time. According to Reporters Without Borders, “Mexico, ranked 152nd of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2014 world press freedom index, is one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists.” SEE ALSO: Brothers involved in Paris newspaper massacre are taken down Certainly, not it’s a title to be proud of. And in most cases, no suspects were convicted. There is no one single motive for these killings in Mexico, and religion doesn’t play a role. So, why have so many journalists been killed and why does the world seem not to care? Some of the latest attacks against journalists in Mexico: • January 2, 2015: Moises Sanchez Cerezo was kidnapped in Veracruz state; police involvement is suspected. • November 20, 2014: Fourteen journalists were attacked while covering a massive protest in Mexico City with regards to the disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero state. • November 11, 2014: Seven journalists were attacked and injured while covering a similar protest in Chilpancingo, the state capital of Guerrero. • October 24, 2014: The body of Antonio Gamboa Urias, editor of the magazine Nueva Prensa, of Ahome, Sinaloa state, was found 13 days after his disappearance. • October 15, 2014: María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio, a netizen, was kidnapped and killed. She was part of the social network Valor Por Tamaulipas, a citizen information service focusing on violence and organized crimes. Her family left the country a few days later. • In 2011, four other netizens were also killed in the same state. Among them was María Elizabeth Macías, the editor of Primera Hora, a daily based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state. She was the fourth woman journalist to be murdered in Mexico since the start of that year. • October 11, 2014: Talk show host Atilano Roman was killed while broadcasting live his show “Así es mi Tierra,” in Mazatlan, Sinaloa state. Roman was a critic of the government and organized protests demanding farmers to be compensated for the flooding of their lands due to the construction of the Picachos dam. The list is, unfortunately, very long. Journalists killed in Mexico happen one by one “This is a terrible situation,” said Eileen Truax, a Mexican journalist living in Los Angeles since 2004. “This is a low profile war….You don’t see it and people don’t talk much about it.” According to Truax, “the government is very smart” by keeping everything under control and therefore the popular belief is that those are “isolated cases,” instead of looking at the big picture. Such big picture is that violence against journalists in Mexico is related, it is part of the overall violence in the current society, which started changing about two decades ago. “Then even the narcos had codes, but now they infiltrated every level of the government, and when the media talk about it, neither the government nor the narcos like it,” said Truax over the phone. “The media also changed, now there is a more independent media —something new in Mexico.” Traditionally, Mexican media had been subsidized by the government. The official advertising sustained almost every media outlet in Mexico for decades. Those who dared to criticize the government and/or public officials could get punished and see that advertising money cancelled. SEE ALSO: NAHJ calls for the immediate protection to journalists in Mexico For example, in 1976, the popular newspaper El Excelsior was on the verge of extinction for criticizing the then president Luis Echeverria. The government first dropped all advertising and then stopped delivering paper for printing the newspaper. So El Excelsior replaced its rebel leaders and rejoined the choir of submissive media. “I think Mexicans still believe all journalists are paid by the government, so when one is killed or attacked, they think its a settling of scores. This could explain why people don’t complain about the violence against journalists,” explained Truax. “This lack of trust toward journalists and media outlets its changing, mainly thanks to younger generations who see things differently.” Truax also explained that outside Mexico people don’t understand this situation and that social changes are usually slow. She expressed optimism about Mexican media becoming more independent —not depending on the government money— and called to put pressure on Mexican government to protect media outlets and journalists from the current trend of criminal violence.The post Targeting journalists: Killing the messenger in Mexico and France appeared first on Voxxi.