Attacks on the Press in 1996 - Mexico

The Mexican press has been moving away from collusion with public officials, a decades-old tradition among many Mexican journalists and news organizations that in the past has diminshed the intergrity and independence of the press.

Mexican journalists covering controversial stories in provincial areas generally are susceptible to attacks from political and criminal elements about whom they report. This is the case in the cities along the U.S. border, where narcotics traffickers proliferate, as well as in the politically volatile states of Tabasco, Oaxaca, and Chiapas.

Unlike their counterparts in some Latin American countries, the Mexican press has not moved toward the formation of professional associations aimed at protecting journalists and denouncing violations of press freedom. But the September kidnapping of a journalist who had written about a recently emerged guerrilla organization in the state of Oaxaca did prompt widespread concern among the press about both personal safety and the implications for press freedom in general.

While the trend among Mexican journalists is toward increased independence and professional integrity, the media remain vulnerable to government influence through official advertising and the control of broadcast licensure.

There were also some milestones for press freedom in 1996. The weekly news magazine Proceso, begun by a group of journalists who had been forced out of the daily newspaper Excelsior in 1976 by then-President Luis Echeverria Alvarez because he did not like their independent posture, celebrated its 20th anniversary. The independent editorial stance of Proceso and other notable publications – including the news weekly Zeta of Tijuana; the daily newspaper El Norte of Monterrey; and more recently Reforma of Mexico City – has inspired a new generation of well-trained, enterprising journalists that is providing Mexicans with more balanced coverage of the news.

In contrast to the officials of many other Latin American nations, the Mexican government has responded to all of CPJ's protests and inquiries about attacks against Mexican journalists. Yet it remains unable or unwilling to resolve the cases of 10 murdered journalists who CPJ has determined were killed because of their work as journalists. Among these cases, which occurred between 1984 and 1995, is the 1988 assasination of Héctor Félix "El Gato" Miranda, the columinst and co-publisher of Zeta.

In an Oct. 15 ruling, a panel of the Organization of American States condemned the Mexican government for jailing a general who publicly criticized the armed forces. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called for the release of Brig. Gen. José Francisco Gallardo Rodríguez, who has been in a military prison since November 1993. Gallardo has claimed that his imprisonment stems from an essay he wrote, in which he detailed several crimes committed by Mexican troops and urged the creation of a civilian-appointed military ombudsman. The panel concluded that the Mexican military had jailed Gallardo "with no reasonable, logical or justifiable purpose."

Despite this ruling, the Mexican government, which has accused Gallardo of stealing public monies, refused to reconsider Gallardo's case.

January 28
José Barrón Rosales, Radio Huayacocotla, ATTACKED

Barrón, a reporter for Radio Huayacocotla, a radio station that serves indigenous communities in Texcatepec, Veracruz, was attacked by his neighbor Aquilino Mendoza. Mendoza insulted and threatened Barrón, accusing him of spreading rumors and false information about land issues on the radio station's broadcasts. He then fired a shot at Barrón, but missed, injuring Barrón's dog instead. Mendoza's wife intervened and prevented him from firing again. Citizens of the indigenous communities in the region reported the incident to the Public Ministry, the president of the Texcatepec Municipality and the state governor of Veracruz but no immediate action was taken. In a written response to CPJ's letter of protest to President Ernesto Zedillo regarding the lack of an investigation into the matter, the general prosecutor of Veracruz stated that Mendoza had been charged with attempted murder.

February 2
Ninfa Deandar Martinez, El Mañana, THREATENED

Deandar, the publisher of the independent daily El Mañana of Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas State, received anonymous threats by telephone at her home. The unidentified caller told Deandar that she would be killed and threatened to harm her four sons, three of whom work at the newspaper. In Nuevo Laredo's town hall on Feb. 20, unidentified people distributed a leaflet carrying a photo of Deandar, stating that she was a "mercenary, gangster, and prostitute of journalism."

February 13
Raymundo Ramos, El Mañana, HARASSED

Ramos, a reporter for the daily newspaper El Mañana of Nuevo Laredo, reported that he was harassed because of articles he wrote that were critical of the government of the state of Tamaulipas. Ramos said he received a call from an unidentified man who said he had a "warning" that he wanted to convey to Ramos in person, and told him to come outside. Ramos said he left the newspaper office and was met by two unidentified men, who told him to accompany them in their vehicle. Ramos went with them; for two hours, they drove around Nuevo Laredo. During this time Ramos said the men told him to stop writing articles criticizing the state government. CPJ wrote to Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and the governor of the state of Tamaulipas, Manuel Cavazos Lerma, urging them to conduct an investigation into the incident.

June 26
XEVA, ATTACKED
Sergio Sibilla, XEVA, HARASSED

XEVA, a popular radio station in the state of Tabasco, was taken over for two hours in the early morning by dozens of supporters of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). They accused the station and "Telereportaje, " the news program they interrupted, of using their programming to destabilize the state and incite violence. The PRI supporters took the microphone away from "Telereportaje" host Sergio Sibilla, and read political statements on the air. The takeover occurred a day after riots by PRI opponents disturbed a visit by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo to Tabasco. The rioters were protesting Zedillo's support for Tabasco's governor, a PRI member. During the previous 18 months, PRI supporters had occupied XEVA four times, accusing it of being a mouthpiece for the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).

August 13
Alberto Flores Casanova, El Mañana, ATTACKED

Flores Casanova, a reporter for the daily El Mañana in the city of Nuevo Laredo, near the Texas border, was attacked while driving to the newspaper's offices just after midnight. Two unidentified men stopped Flores Casanova at an intersection about two blocks from the newspaper. One of the men pointed a handgun at Flores Casanova, who managed to push it away as it went off. A shot hit the vehicle's dashboard, and bullet fragments lodged in Flores Casanova's right leg. The motive for the attack is unknown. Flores Casanova has written critically about the government of the state of Tamaulipas. CPJ wrote a letter to Mexican authorities urging them to pursue an investigation.

September 12
Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, El Universal, HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION

The Mexican government sent an estimated 40 armed federal judicial policemen to the office of the Mexico City daily El Universal to arrest Ealy Ortiz, the newspaper's owner, for alleged tax evasion, but he was not there. Ealy Ortiz peacefully turned himself in to the attorney general's office the following morning. He posted bail and was freed pending a judicial proceeding. On Sept. 17, Ealy Ortiz was formally charged with tax evasion. In a letter to President Ernesto Zedillo, CPJ stressed that it had no information about the veracity of the tax evasion charges against Ealy Ortiz but that it questioned the government's extreme show-of-force in its attempt to arrest him at his office, especially at a time when the Mexican press is becoming increasingly independent and is playing a crucial role in Mexico's economic and political evolution. CPJ also pointed out that it is widely known that El Universal hired some of Mexico's most prominent journalists, some of whom had been critical of the government.

September 17
Razhy González Rodríguez, Contrapunto, IMPRISONED, THREATENED, ATTACKED

González Rodríguez, director of the Oaxaca-based regional weekly magazine Contrapunto, was abducted in Oaxaca City at 11 p.m. González Rodríguez was walking along Bustamante Street in the center of Oaxaca with a friend, Pilar Monterubio, when two armed men, wearing black hoods and carrying handguns, forced González Rodríguez into the back of an automobile and waved a pistol at Monterubio, signaling her to leave. Two other men were in the front of the car, and after González Rodríguez was in the car, they sped off, driving against traffic on a one-way street. Their car was followed by a man on a motorcycle. González Rodríguez was taken to an undisclosed location, gagged, blindfolded, and bound with handcuffs to a chair for 44 hours. He was mentally and physically tortured, his life and the lives of his family were threatened, and he was accused of being a collaborator with the Ejercito Popular Revolucionario (EPR), a terrorist guerrilla army that has recently emerged in Southern Mexico. González Rodríguez, who was one of a group of journalists to interview EPR representatives in Oaxaca on Sept. 13, was interrogated about his reporting on the EPR's activities. He believes his interrogators were members of the federal police force because they released him only after he agreed to notify authorities if he received any more information from the EPR.