Mexico is one of the deadliest countries to work as a journalist. According to a report published by the Committee for Protection of Journalists (CPJ), the Latin American country ranks sixth in terms of mortality for media professionals. The murders of 28 journalists in Mexico from the last 10 years remain unsolved.
Even more jarring is the number of journalists murdered from January to October of this year alone: 15. This makes 2022 the deadliest year for journalists in Mexico.
In addition, as reported by RTVE, another 27 journalists are still missing in the country. These statistics serve as reason enough for the CPJ report to qualify Mexico as one of the "most egregious cases against freedom of the press." Further, the report acknowledges that the number could be much higher, due to the "general violence in Mexico," which makes it difficult to determine the reasons why many journalists end up being murdered.
Just hours after the report was published, Article 19, an international press freedom group, announced a campaign to raise awareness of the risks of being a journalist in Mexico.
Journalism is a profession in which the people who practice it put their lives on the line every day.
🗣️Today, the day to eradicate impunity for crimes against journalists, you can demand guarantees for this work, a pillar of democracy.
➡️https://t.co/A8LXZHDBUN#PeriodismoEnRiesgo pic.twitter.com/9a53sYqipG
- ARTICLE 19 MX-CA (@article19mex) November 2, 2022
Journalist killers go free
Mexico is not the only country of concern. Eighty percent of the 263 cases of journalists who have lost their lives on the job around the world over the last decade have yet to be solved. In 78% of the cases (a total of 206), no one was ever convicted of the crime.
The list, compiled from data collected between Sept. 1, 2012 and Aug. 31, 2022, ranks Somalia for the eighth consecutive year as the deadliest country to be a journalist. It is followed by Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mexico, the Philippines, Burma, Brazil, Pakistan and India.
The top 5 countries on CPJ's #ImpunityIndex are not new to the index: Somalia, Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq
Their history of conflict, political instability, & weak rule of law make authorities unlikely to ever devote resources to seeking justicehttps://t.co/ewgfGuiege pic.twitter.com/V0yogVQ45F
- Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) November 1, 2022
