What is really happening in Mexico?
For years, Mexico has been experiencing a growing process of institutional and social decomposition, which is reflected in a perception of citizen insecurity and high levels of violence, which have been affecting journalism workers in a notorious way, making us one of the most dangerous countries in which to practice journalism.
In my opinion, this violence against journalists – through murders, assaults, threats and forced displacements – is basically an attack and a violation of the right to information and freedom of expression, which are pillars of a democracy. Organizations such as Article 19 have documented the murder of 150 journalists (138 men and 12 women) so far this century. So far, governments of all political stripes (PAN, PRI and Morena) have shown their inability to confront and contain this phenomenon. Beyond the speeches from power, public policies do not differ beyond insignificant changes. In fact, the knots of these networks that cross politics and organized crime continue to strengthen. In Mexico we have a branch of the police, the prosecutor’s office and the courts of the judiciary eaten away by corruption, stultified and not at all interested in investigating cases of journalists’ murders.
2022 began with violence against journalists in Mexico, is the situation so critical for journalists?
This year has been dramatic for journalism workers in Mexico, as six colleagues have been murdered, making a total of 31 so far in the current government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, compared to 47 during the previous term of office of Enrique Peña Nieto. Unfortunately, impunity persists because, as with the rest of the murders in the country, the number of cases with judicial sentences against those responsible does not reach 2%. Politics and organized crime continue to intersect. Just as an example, the government of Javier Duarte, in the state of Veracruz (December 2010-November 2016) has been the most lethal for journalists: 18 journalists murdered, as documented by Article 19. In that period, in separate events, two colleagues from my media, Proceso magazine, were murdered and remain unpunished: Regina Martínez, our correspondent in Veracruz, and the photojournalist Rubén Espinosa (although he was murdered in Mexico City, but his informative work was done in Veracruz). The authorities of the prosecutor’s office have always avoided going deeper into the line of investigation of their journalistic work.
Why did you become an exiled journalist?
In 2007, we received information that the Familia Michoacana-Zetas cartel had ordered my assassination. And the management of my media, Proceso magazine, considered that the risk of staying in Mexico was too high, so they suggested I come to Spain as an alternative. In seven days I was in Madrid. At Proceso magazine in Mexico City, I was in charge of covering political issues and investigating corruption cases, but at my previous position, as a correspondent in Chihuahua and the border city of Ciudad Juarez, I frequently dealt with investigations on drug trafficking, narco-politics, national security and border issues.
Due to an internal rearrangement in the Mexico City staff, from 2005-2006 I dealt with drug trafficking issues, which at that time were becoming more frequent and had a greater impact. I was in that place when, at the beginning of Felipe Calderón’s government, he announced what he called “the war against drugs”, which was like a blow to the hornet’s nest, because it unleashed violence like never before in Mexico.
I had finished writing a book on the narco and narco-politics (Narcotráfico. El gran desafío de Calderón – Planeta, 2007), and I had returned to reporting for the magazine. There were confrontations in Michoacán and in one of them some soldiers were killed. We published and, days later, the director of Proceso received the information about the threat against me.
Why did you have to flee Mexico? Why did you become a target of the Mexican government?
Ramón Pequeño, a high-level official in the team of the Secretary of Public Security, Genaro García Luna, was the one who notified us of the threat against me, supposedly for publishing in detail the names and ranks of the criminal group in Michoacán that was implicated in the murder of the soldiers, one of whom was a high-ranking member of the Army
However, at Proceso magazine we did not trust the words of García Luna and his closest team, because we knew reports that implicated him with organized crime people, in fact we even published some of his corrupt acts. My bosses and my colleagues set out to try to confirm or look for indications of the threat in off the record conversations with other security, intelligence and other sources.
A military source in the government itself confided to us that they had suspicions that the threat against me might come from Garcia Luna’s own secretariat, and not properly from the drug trafficking group. We were never able to confirm this. But one unequivocal fact is that today García Luna is in prison awaiting trial in New York Federal Court for his involvement with the Sinaloa cartel.
What challenges and problems do you face as a journalist in exile?
Sometimes leaving our country is the only way to save our lives, however,it is not easy,especially when the departure is forced, you live a severe post-traumatic stress because you know the danger over your head. Even if you find good people in the new country, rebuilding your life in the face of such a violent and forced situation makes things not easy. In Spain I have been fortunate to be able to practice journalism as a correspondent for my magazine, but it has not always been easy. Especially at the beginning there were strong changes, even depression. Unfortunately, other Mexican colleagues do not have that alternative.
Mexico is a very difficult country for journalists, is the threat of Mexico still present where you live now?
Mexico is a very dangerous country to practice journalism. But this is even more acute among colleagues who work in cities or towns in the states of the Republic, outside the capital, who are the most dangerous and vulnerable, often without the support of their own media. There are studies by psychologists that affirm that these journalists in the states of the Republic and small Mexican cities experience post-traumatic stress worse than a war correspondent. In my case, the threat of being in Spain has dissipated. Putting some distance helped to reduce the risk and the pressure. I have returned to Mexico on several occasions and so far I have not had any problems.
Can you access your news sources now? When politicians want journalists to be quiet,should journalists stop writing and researching?
I have resumed contact with my old sources, although they are more sporadic, because many of these sources only talk to me face-to-face, for security reasons. It is a dilemma: to continue researching or to stop writing. I would not dare to criticize a colleague who decides to stop writing, each of us must measure the risks and how far we should go. The ideal would be to be able to work on any subject with safety to our physical integrity. However, colleagues themselves have been building their own safety nets, such as going as a group to cover certain top- ics, collaborative work, maintaining continuous communication codes between groups of colleagues, and activating the alarm in social networks and reports as soon as someone is in danger. Knowing how to manage stress and recommendations for reporting issues that could pose a danger.
If you had the opportunity ,what would you like to ask the people who forced you into exile?
I would ask them: What was the real motive for ordering my assassination? Which members of the government were involved? Because I am convinced that it was not just a matter of organized crime due to being uncomfortable with a publication.