When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
blog

More Mexican Journalists Killed For Probing Corruption Than Cartels

Jorge Sanchez, son of slain journalist Moises Sanchez, director of the newspaper La Union
Jorge Sanchez, son of slain journalist Moises Sanchez, director of the newspaper La Union

MEXICO CITY — Who's killing Mexico's journalists?

Reporters and editors have increasingly been targeted for murder during the ongoing war against Mexican drug cartels. But a recent investigation by Mexico City-based newspaper El Universal shows that a majority of the journalists killed were not investigating narcotics trafficking, but local police news and national politics.

Some 58% of the 88 journalists murdered in Mexico since 2000 primarily covered police news and national politics, compared to only 23% covering narcotics trafficking. The report illustrates how reporters in the country have become targets not only for drug cartels, but also for corrupt local governments involved in drug trafficking.

Mexican journalists are often on the front lines of their country's vicious struggle against the cartels, but they also frequently uncover financial and political corruption at all levels of government. Seven reporters have been killed so far in 2015, representing a worrying rise since numbers began to fall after President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in 2013, promising to end his predecessor's full-blown war on the country's numerous drug cartels.

According to the El Universal report, most of the murdered journalists were gunned down in their homes or on the street, and over half of the assassinations occurred in the conflict-ridden states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Chihuahua and Guerrero. In areas where drug cartels may hold more power or legitimacy than the government, or where police themselves are linked to organized crime, the lines become dangerously blurred for investigative reporters.

"Some local administrations have been taken over by organized crime," said researcher Luis Daniel Vazquez. "This is very grave, because journalists reporting threats to the police worsen their own situation."

In cities like Veracruz, the constant killings have intimidated newspapers into refraining from exposing too much information on the local drug trade. But in others, like the once-infamous Ciudad Juarez, journalists have continued to risk their lives for their laudable work. Elsewhere the situation is more complicated, and some cartels have even sought to establish relationships with the press to smear and keep tabs on their rivals.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

How I Made Homeschooling Work For My Mexican Family

Educating children at home is rarely accepted in Mexico, but Global Press Journal reporter Aline Suárez del Real's family has committed to daily experiential learning.

How I Made Homeschooling Work For My Mexican Family

Cosme Damián Peña Suárez del Real and his grandmother, Beatriz Islas, make necklaces and bracelets at their home in Tecámac, Mexico.

ALINE SUÁREZ DEL REAL/GPJ MEXICO
Aline Suárez del Real

TECÁMAC, MEXICO — Fifteen years ago, before I became a mother, I first heard about someone who did not send her child to school and instead educated him herself at home. It seemed extreme. How could anyone deny their child the development that school provides and the companionship of other students? I wrote it off as absurd and thought nothing more of it.

Today, my 7-year-old son does not attend school. Since August of last year, he has received his education at home, a practice known as home-schooling.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest