Troubled Times of Violence and Resistance for Latin American Journalists Daniela Pastrana - CPA
go to original August 2, 2016

Mexico is the most dangerous country in Latin America for journalists. In 2015 it accounted for one-third of all murders of reporters in the region, and four more journalists have been added to the list so far this year.

The latest, Francisco Pacheco Beltran, was shot dead outside his home in the southern state of Guerrero last April 25. Pacheco Beltran regularly covered crime and violence, which have been on the rise in connection with organised crime and drug trafficking. He worked for several local media outlets in Mexico’s poorest state, which is also one of the most violent.

His murder adds one more chapter to the history of terror for the press in Mexico in this new century, which has included not only the killings of 92 journalists, but also a phenomenon that is almost unheard of in democratic countries around the world: 23 journalists have been forcibly disappeared in the last 12 years, an average of two a year.

And every 22 hours, a journalist is attacked in Mexico, according to the latest report by the Britain-based anti-censorship group Article 19.

“Violence against the press in Mexico is systematic and widespread,” said the former director of the organisation’s Mexico branch, Dario Ramirez, on the last International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, celebrated each November 2.

But violence and impunity are not the only problems faced by journalists in Mexico and the rest of the region.

Ricardo Gonzalez, Article 19’s global protection program officer, told Inter Press Service (IPS) that freedom of the press in Latin America faces three principal challenges: prevention, protection and the fight against impunity; the de-concentration of media ownership; and improving the working conditions of journalists.

“For us, the red zones are Mexico, Honduras and Brazil,” Gonzalez said.

Read the rest at CPA

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