HIST 361: The Mexican Revolution: Birth, Life, Death

 The Latin Americanist – Dec. 10, 2008

One group of victims in an increasingly violent Mexico is journalists. The death of Bradley Will in Oaxaca two years ago comes to mind though those killed are mostly locals like “top crime reporter” Armando Rodriguez who was gunned down last month. Is it any wonder that in 2007 Reporters Without Borders named Mexico the second-most dangerous country in the world for journalists?

Thus, it’s disheartening to read that some Mexican officials are trying to sugar-coat such a dangerous situation for journalists:

Only three of 25 reporters who died violently in the last two years in Mexico were killed because of their work, the country’s special prosecutor for crimes against journalists said Tuesday.

Octavio Orellana said most of the reporters who died were bystanders in attacks against other people, were killed in accidents or committed suicide. He said several victims who worked with media outlets were not reporters.

The motives behind most reporters’ deaths “are similar to what affects the rest of Mexicans,” Orellana added, referring to sharply increased murder rates across the country.

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Earlier this week, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe visited his Mexican counterpart- Felipe Calderon- and praised the country’s anti-violence policy. “One is very happy to see efforts like those of President Calderon,” said Uribe who reportedly predicted that Mexico would eventually win its battle against drug gangs.

Uribe’s remarks may have been well-intentioned though the setbacks appear to outnumber the gains. On Monday alone, for instance, seven people were killed in the border city of Ciudad Juarez including a mutilated corpse left at a police station. A pair of physically disabled officers who served on a special police unit were shot and killed in Chihuahua. The rampant violence has scared off tourists and hurt the country’s finances.

According to the National Post roughly 4000 people have been murdered over the past year; a figure that is “four times’ higher than the casualty rate in Iraq among Americans.”

Is it any wonder that Mexico’s private security industry is undergoing a boom?

Sources- The Latin Americanist, IHT, Los Angles Times, AP, Reuters, Voice of America, BBC News