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Carlos Loret de Mola was denounced by the Mexican president after his recent reporting.
By Lauren Cincotta ’25
Staff Writer
In the first two months of 2022, five journalists have been killed in Mexico. Four were killed in January, and the most recent murder occurred during the second week of February.
An article from the Associated Press quoted a tweet from Jan-Albert Hootsen, Mexico representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Hootsen tweeted, “The first six weeks of 2022 have been the deadliest for the Mexican press in over a decade.” The group Reporters Without Borders recently declared Mexico the most dangerous country for journalists for the third year in a row. According to this organization, there are low rates of conviction for the journalists’ murderers, and the current presidential administration has done little to shift this narrative. As reported by NBC News, at least 28 journalists have been killed under the administration of current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose term began in 2018.
Recently, the president was criticized for remarks he made concerning a journalist investigating his son, who had a conflict of interest over renting a home from an executive with ties to a state-run oil company, according to NPR. The president criticized the journalist who was covering the story, Carlos Loret de Mola. According to the same article, “López Obrador put up a slide with what he said was Loret de Mola's annual income versus his own income to show that the journalist makes drastically more than the president does.”
López Obrador also made comments against the salaries of other journalists and attacked the merits of the profession. “He said journalists say they are defenders of the truth … and that they also uncover corruption. He said, ‘No, they are none of that. They are hired thugs that do just the opposite.’ He insists reporters work for huge business interests that don’t like him because he fights for the poor,” the article continued.
This is not the first time controversy has arisen over López Obrador’s relationship with the press. Earlier this year, journalist Lourdes Maldonado López was shot and killed in Tijuana. Maldonado López worked to cover corruption and politics, and in 2019 she made headlines for telling the president that she “feared for her life,” according to CNN. The Federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, a Mexican organization, offers threatened journalists and activists protection in the form of bodyguards, bulletproof vests and other security materials. However, the efficacy of the agency is limited in a country where the threats to journalists are frequent and widespread and where offenders are not often caught and punished. The agency itself is imperfect in its protection efforts — Maldonado López, for example, was under agency protection when she was killed.
Mount Holyoke Spanish language instructor Elena García Frazier moved to the U.S. from Mexico, and while she still follows the news surrounding the most recent attacks, she noted that this corruption has been a problem in Mexico for a long time. According to García Frazier, there is widespread corruption in the government. When narcos are able to buy out government officials, it creates a dangerous environment for dissenters, including protestors, activists and journalists.
While the international awareness of the issue is growing, journalists’ daily situation remains dangerous, due to both widespread corruption and criminal activity, as well as a lack of action from the government to adequately protect reporters.
“Certain governments have, in their mind, pretty good reason for not allowing press freedom, because they don't want those conditions to be made public,” Cass Sever, visiting instructor in sociology, said.
“[The government believes] if [they] allow messages to get out, that could hurt [them] more than simply removing journalists,” she continued. Server added that this mentality creates a dangerous situation for journalists.
Despite corruption within the Mexican government, limited protection measures and low probability of justice, Server concluded, “It’s admirable that journalists feel so strongly about conveying information and reality of where they are, but it's hard to know how to realistically protect folks … who are working in such dangerous contexts, or in contexts that are so unsupportive of [the] opinions of the people and [their day-to-day] realities.”
However, García Frazier noted, there are still journalists bravely working to tell the truth despite their hostile circumstances. She cited journalist Carmen Aristegui and her team at Aristegui News, who are known for their dedication to reporting on issues of corruption. While the issues with corruption and violence against the media are continuing, García Frazier expressed that journalists like Aristegui are making a difference as the fight for justice and truth continues.