'From Highest Level': Prominent Mexican Investigative Journalist Reveals Motive for Firing RT
go to original March 31, 2015

See English translation below

Carmen Aristegui, a leading Mexican investigative journalist, says her country is becoming increasingly authoritarian under President Nieto. She was fired by MVS Radio shortly after reporting on a luxury house built for the first lady.

Aristegui, who is a prominent left-wing figure in Mexico with over 3 million subscribers following her Twitter account, was fired by her long-time employer MVS Radio two weeks ago.

Two journalists working as part of Aristegui’s 17-strong investigative team launched a website called Mexicoleaks, which is meant to ensure anonymity to whistleblowers. MVS Radio accused them of illegally using the company’s brand name for the site and fired them. In the ensuing conflict the anchorwoman herself had to leave the station.

In an exclusive interview with RT, Aristegui said the Mexicoleaks story was a pretext for, rather than the cause of the dismissals.

“Mexicoleaks bothers the authorities because it can provide information for investigators like our team. But the situation that they claim provoked the conflict is not that important,” she said. “It’s not about any profit or money. We didn’t pay anybody and nobody paid us. No business was involved.”

She believes the Mexican government’s irritation with independent investigative journalism is behind the fallout with MVS Radio, Aristegui told RT.

Read the rest at RT

Photo: Eduardo Verdugo/AP

SOT, Carmen Aristegui, journalist (Spanish): "The whole story of MexicoLeaks is just a pretext. MexicoLeaks bothers the authorities, because this resource can provide investigators with information and data for such departments as ours. But the situation which, according to them, provoked the conflict has the less value: it says that, whether we reported or not, about the fact of access to the platform, the only aim of which is getting information. There is no profit, no money, we didn't pay anyone, no one paid us, there is no business involved in it, we didn't illegally use the brand of our department of special investigations of the organisation named Noticias MVS."

SOT, Carmen Aristegui, journalist (Spanish): "…what does this overturn mean? This can't be an irrational campaign. This is a serious company, which has existed for many years. These facts lead us to the point, that there exists some threat or the agreement or something which is connected with an angry government, in some sense, driven into the corner as a result of the investigation of this group. And, it goes without saying that we perceive it as the highest measure of the highest level of the government."

SOT, Carmen Aristegui, journalist (Spanish): "Mexico is experiencing some restrictions, which give cause for anxiety. For many years, Mexico did not experience the sharp process of the return to authoritarianism. It is horrible what Mexico is experiencing right now. Pena Nieto is a president who doesn't correspond with the democratic image, he responds with power, uses horrible methods, with which he reacts against the society, to which [society] he should give the explanation but not the beating."

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