Anxiety and anger grip press corps in Mexico after spate of murders

In a country whose climate is infamous for being exceedingly hostile toward journalists, a spate of murders has disillusioned an already cynical press corps, prompting journalists to publicly speak out about the dangers they face on the job. Across the country, journalists and human rights advocates demonstrated on Tuesday night in favor of press freedom. They held signs that read “journalism at risk” and paid tribute to their fallen colleagues — those who have lost their lives for simply reporting the news.

Just this month, three reporters have been killed in the Latin American country. Journalist Lourdes Maldonado López, who told Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2019 that she feared for her life, was shot to death inside her car on Sunday; photojournalist Alfonso Margarito Martínez Esquivel was shot in the head outside his home on January 17; and Jose Luis Gamboa, the founder and editor two news websites, was killed on January 10.

“You feel like an easy target”

Somehow, in recent weeks, the situation has managed to become even more dire, CPJ Latin America and Caribbean program coordinator Natalie Southwick told me on Wednesday. Southwick said that journalists in the country, especially those who cover corruption or organized crime, are currently “thinking furiously” about “whether what they’re doing is worth the risk to their families.”

Anxiety and anger

CNN Mexico City producer Karol Suarez writes: “Here in Mexico, a sense of anxiety and anger has gripped the journalism community. The lack of concrete actions from authorities has created an atmosphere of impunity and bitterness among all. Imagine telling the president of your country that you fear for your life, and a few years later, you get killed while arriving home; it’s awful, right? Something failed, and it has been failing for more than two decades….