Proceso: Denise Dresser*
Translated by Leslie Castillo Navia
Fear. That which enslaves. That which silences. That lurking, wide-eyed ghost. That club used by priests, presidents and politicians to recover what has been taken away from the population. That which is now more present than ever among reporters, journalists, columnists, and those who are sentinels of Mexico. The fear of being fired, snatched away, struck, assassinated, tortured, censured, disappeared. It's there every day, settled into editorial offices, in publishing meetings, and in news reports. It was documented in the most recent report of Article 19--appropriately named “M.I.E.D.O” [FEAR]--on the violence against journalists throughout the country. Violence which grows. And grows. And grows.
Due to impunity and continuous fading of the rule of law, for reasons already well-known by all: aggression against journalists or media will never be punished. It is more and more common to hear how certain informative pieces are not published due to a fear of retaliation from those whom they expose. Censorship is more and more frequent among media members who shut up due to fear of political blows, physical blows, or advertising cutbacks. In the face of uncertainties, the collective response has become a corrosive fear which restricts journalism and the role of monitoring that should be practiced. Today, to be a journalist in Mexico means to live with permanent surveillance.
Journalists live harassed, anguished, and knowing that 46.9% of attacks come from public servants. The worst enemy of journalism is not organized crime, as they would like us to believe. It is the State itself, whether it be federal power or state power, whether it be in Mexico City or in Veracruz or in Puebla or in Guerrero--the states which recorded the highest number of attacks. Continuous deterioration, endless decomposition, defenselessness without protection. With identified and identifiable culprits such as Javier Duarte, who has converted Veracruz into the most dangerous geographical area of the continent in which to practice journalism.
The figures reflect the geography of fear, the context of fear. The number of attacks on journalists amounted to one every 22 hours, when last year it was one every 26.7 hours. In 2015, there were 397 attacks on the press--the most violent year since 2009, when there were 326. Seven journalists were assassinated. Men and women trying to investigate, trying to narrate, trying to unravel the truth in states which are fractured by disputes related to organized crime, the criminal penetration of the Government, the weakness of institutions, poor governance, and terrifying violence, or in states governed by unscrupulous, shameless, corrupt men. Places which are now in no condition for journalism due to threats, cyber attacks, and arbitrary arrests, and where, according to an anonymous source, "we are all emotionally fucked.¨
How can one return to normalcy and report after a raid on ones home? After forced displacement? After an illegal deprivation of liberty? After finding out that these attacks were carried out by a governor, a mayor, or a police officer? After understanding that digital media is no longer a safe archipelago due to cyber attacks and systematic attacks by bots and trolls which are paid for by authorities? Many journalists live (survive) feeling unprotected, looking over their shoulders constantly, making evasive maneuvers when they drive, and walking frightened even by their own shadows. They live in fear of running into police officers due to the attacks carried out by forces in states like Veracruz, where the government of Duarte says that the police officers have undergone "the strictest controls of evaluation and trust which seek to return peace and stability" to the state.
We carry the names of those no longer with us. Moisés Sánchez. Rubén Espinosa. Filadelfio Sánchez. Armando Saldaña. We also carry with us a sexist, chauvinistic, misogynistic society which expresses its violence against female journalists and communicators with ad hominem messages. With messages that constitute a violation of privacy. With messages that seek to make one's private life known or put together campaigns to smear one's reputation with sexual connotations. With threatening messages related to sexual, family, and emotional integrity. Messages filled with insults, disqualifications and attacks focused not on the arguments, but on gender. There, in the networks, are all the new forms of violence against women, hidden behind anonymity. These messages are what women like Luisa Velázquez, Rossana Reguillo and Marion Reimers have suffered.
And the worst part is that the most recent report from Article 19 repeats what has been published in previous reports, except that the situation worsens in the face of impotence or lack of interest by authorities. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against the Freedom of Expression (FEADLE), and multiple protection mechanisms all window dressing. Pretending to do a job they don't. In 2015, despite the increase in attacks against journalists, the NHRC only opened eight legal records and issued only general recommendations. Instead of seeing an active institution, we saw a cautious institution. Or, in the case of the FEADLE, we suffered from an incompetent, straggling institution--alarming in its ineffectiveness against the escalation of violence. As for journalists and the dangers they face, Mexico is the country of expensive bureaucracies and no results.
The situation is serious. The situation is worrisome. The situation is desperate because, faced with the scope of what is happening, dissimulation prevails. The State which should be the protector has become the perpetrator. The State which should ensure justice and truth, tries to avoid both. Hence the paradox of our country: on paper, journalists are protected with commissions and attorneys and mechanisms; in reality, they are killed and censored. Article 19 concludes its report with recommendations for the agencies of a State which is not interested in protecting its journalists. They can hardly count on the Government to eradicate their fear. They will have to learn to train it, to tame it, and to work on the tasks at hand in order to recover the stolen truth. Head-on, taking on the daily challenge of doing so without fear of fear. Spanish original
*Denise Dresser is a Mexican political analyst, writer, and university professor. After completing undergraduate work at The College of Mexico, she earned her Ph.D. in Politics at Princeton University. She is currently a faculty member in the Department of Political Science at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), where she teaches courses such as Comparative Politics, Political Economy and Contemporary Mexican Politics. She has taught at Georgetown University and the University of California. In December 2015, she was decorated as a Knight of the Legion of Honor by the French government. Twitter: @DeniseDresserG