Mexico: One of the Most Dangerous Countries for Journalists

EspañolLike Cuba, Venezuela, Egypt, China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, and other countries with repressive regimes, Freedom House has rated Mexico as “not free” in its latest Freedom of the Press 2016 report.

In a previous report, the organization listed Mexico as a “partly free” country. Among the events that led to downgrade the country to the same level of countries at war like Syria are the murders of journalists and constant attacks against the media.

Read More: Freedom House Declares 2015 the Worst Year in a Decade
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Mexico obtained an overall score of 64 on a scale ranging from zero (the worst) to 100 (the best).

Mexico press freedom — The loss of freedom for journalists worldwide is notorious according to Freedom House. (Aristegui)

A particularly notorious incident occurred in March 2015, when MVS, an independent radio station, dismissed all members of Aristegui Noticias, a team of renowned investigative journalists who thoroughly covered a variety of topics of public interest.

The company accused the research team of using the MVS brand without permission to publicize a new website, Méxicoleaks, that invites whistleblowers to anonymously provide data on government irregularities or corruption from officials.

“The firings occurred just a few months after the team published a report about a luxurious residence in Mexico City belonging to president Enrique Peña Nieto‘s wife, which she had acquired through a major government contractor. It caused a scandal due to the apparent conflict of interest.”

Also, “citizens, journalists, and media organizations expressed suspicions about the role of government pressure on MVS’s decision [to fire the reporters]. Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said it was of ‘a subtle form of censorship of a critical voice.'”