Journalists murdered in Mexico: from the Fox government to the AMLO government

Virtual image of journalist Javier Valdez asks for justice 3:43

(CNN Spanish) -

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists and the exercise of their work.

According to the 2021 edition of the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Classification, Mexico is in the 143rd position, out of a total of 180 countries on this list, in terms of freedom of movement. press.

"(Mexico), one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Life for investigative journalists is hard in this country, corroded by corruption and under the influence of cartels and drug traffickers. Assassinations, exiles and self-censorship have been become the rule, "says RSF.

And it is the problem of the murder of journalists that reappears.

According to the organization Article 19, this Monday the announcer Abraham Mendoza was assassinated in the city of Morelia, in the state of Michoacán, in the west of the country.

ARTICLE 19 documents the murder of the announcer Abraham Mendoza, which occurred yesterday in Morelia, Michoacán.

And it demands that @FiscaliaMich adhere to the Approved Protocol to Investigate Crimes against Freedom of Expression, and consider journalistic work as the axis of investigation.

pic.twitter.com/VHKqkB50Yu

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- ARTICLE 19 MX-CA (@ article19mex) July 20, 2021

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Mendoza's murder highlights the violence against journalists in Mexico in 2021, and especially in recent months.

Article 19 documented two murders in June and one more in May.

This violence has persisted for many years, as shown in Article 19. Under the last four presidents, from the six-year term of Vicente Fox (which began on December 1, 2000) until the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, there have been registered 137 murders of journalists in Mexico.

That of Abraham Mendoza would be the 138th murder in that period, although Article 19 told CNN that the documentation process for this homicide is still in process.

Because of this, the number of murders of journalists remains at 137 for the moment.

What have the López Obrador government and the former presidents said about the murders of journalists?

Felipe Calderón, former president of Mexico, spoke on Tuesday about the murder of Abraham Mendoza.

In a message on his official Twitter account, he pointed out that it is necessary to invest more in the country's police forces and not in "gangster consultations", in reference to the upcoming popular consultation on the trial of former presidents.

"Another journalist assassinated ... Rest in Peace Abraham Mendoza and let justice be done. To that they should dedicate public money, to strengthening police, prosecutors and courts. Not to Gansito consultations or to baseball stadiums," wrote Calderón, whose government added 48 murders of journalists, the highest figure in the last 20 years, according to Article 19.

Meanwhile, former President Vicente Fox, whose administration recorded the murder of 22 journalists, in accordance with Article 19, has consistently criticized the López Obrador government in relation to this problem.

These criticisms have occurred especially in 2019, already under the presidency of López Obrador, when 10 homicides of journalists were committed, according to Article 19. This figure is the same as that recorded by the organization in 2008 and 2010, years of the Felipe Calderón government .

"LÓPEZ you have earned the record for the most crimes in all its categories: JOURNALISTS, WOMEN, CHILDREN, CIVILISTS, POLICE, MAYORS, POLITICIANS. By when?" Fox wrote in a November 2019 tweet.

Meanwhile, the López Obrador government indicated on Tuesday, after Mendoza's murder in Morelia, that the crime would not go unpunished.

In addition, he added that they are not the same as other governments.

"The Government of Mexico reaffirms its commitment to journalists so that they can exercise their profession freely and safely. We are not the same. This administration does not spy on communicators, politicians or activists, much less censorship. We respect privacy and freedoms "Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, general coordinator of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic, commented in a tweet.

For his part, former President Enrique Peña Nieto has been absent from the public eye since his term ended on November 30, 2018 and has not commented on the matter.

Meanwhile, the problem continues.

Below, you can read the names of the journalists killed from the Fox administration to the López Obrador government.

Assassination of journalistsJournalistsJournalists murdered