10
Mar
2022
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The situation of journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico
Madam President, the persecution, intimidation and violence against the press is a very worrying problem. At least 47 journalists have been killed since 2018, making Mexico one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press. Violence that also hits human rights defenders and environmental defenders particularly worryingly, with 42 killings in 2021. In addition to the killings, one of the most dangerous threats facing journalists and human rights defenders are disappearances: Nearly 100,000 people have disappeared since 1964, according to Mexico's National Search Commission. All these are real problems that society faces and that make evident the shortcomings of the Mexican State. From here, we call for the implementation of policies that ensure a right as basic in democracy as the right to information, without risking one's life, in solidarity with journalists such as Guillermo García, a new case, among so many others, of harassment of the press. The problem is that some political groups in this House are using this situation as a throwing weapon against the Mexican government, with interests that have little to do with the defense of journalists and human rights defenders. And this is intolerable.