The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) today denounced the “hostile speech” towards the media of the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, during his six years in office, in which he has failed to fulfill its promise to end the murders of journalists in his country, almost a month before the June 2 elections.
“The balance is devastating: beyond the terrifying number of reporters who have lost their lives, no reform of the system of protection of journalists has been carried out, despite the recommendations on the matter,” denounced the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), based in Paris.
How many journalists have been murdered during AMOL’s six-year term?
The 37 murdered for working as journalists – often due to investigating drug cartels and their political ramifications – are close in number to those that occurred during the mandate of López Obrador’s predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto. During 2012 and 2018, 38 deaths of informants were recorded in that period.
However, the six years of Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) were the deadliest, with 51 in the last 30 years. The States of Guerrero, Veracruz and Tamaulipas have been the ones that have recorded the most murders since 1995.
For years, Mexico has been among the countries with the most reported murders in the world.
“With views to the June 2 electionsRSF asks the candidates to commit to finally adopting concrete measures to protect media professionals and fight against impunity for crimes committed against journalists,” said Artur Romeu, director of the RSF Office in Latin America.
The NGO sent a message to the three presidential candidates: Claudia Sheinbaum, member of the government coalition; Xochitl Galvezrepresentative of the right-wing opposition, and Jorge Álvarez, from Movimiento Ciudadano.
“Although the three have made insecurity and corruption their central campaign issuesto date they have not officially commented on the tragic situation of journalists in Mexico“, warning.
