Justice Demanded for the Killing of Journalists in Mexico

On Monday, dozens of journalists, media workers and activists protested in Mexico City to demand justice for the murder of the correspondent of the newspaper La Jornada in the state of Nayarit, Luis Martín Sánchez Íñiguez, which occurred last Saturday.

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In the protest, which took place in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior, the journalists demanded that the authorities resolve the case of Sánchez Íñiguez and other colleagues murdered in previous years in various states of the country and demanded better working conditions.

"Every time an attack is made against a journalist, an attack is made against democracy. In this government it has been said that there is a commitment to democracy, but we see that journalists continue to be killed and that is a contradiction in terms," declared a journalist member of the Red Rompe el Miedo (Break the Fear Network).

"We ask and demand that justice be done, that the authorities receive us, that the necessary adjustments be made. We have been demanding modifications to the protection mechanism for journalists and human rights defenders, and we have not obtained a response, we ask President López Obrador what has to happen for him to give us an answer," the journalist added.

Journalists also protested against the murder of Sánchez Íñiguez in the cities of Oaxaca, Guadalajara, Aguascalientes and Ciudad Juárez.

According to local media, the reporter's wife, Cecilia López, reported to the Nayarit Prosecutor's Office that the journalist was not at home and that unknown persons took him and his work materials such as his computer, cell phone, hard drive and media accreditation.

Organizations defending freedom of expression pointed out that the 59-year-old correspondent would be the fourth journalist murdered so far in 2023. Of the four cases, in two it has been confirmed that his death occurred because of his journalistic work and the other two are still under investigation.

In 2022, Mexico ranked as the most dangerous "country at peace" for the press, with 20 percent of the murders of journalists in the world, with 13 cases, according to the organization Reporters Without Borders. According to the organization Article 19, a total of 160 journalists have been murdered in Mexico since 2000.