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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 03:41 AM Mar 2016

Why 2015 Was the Most Violent Year for Journalists in Mexico

Why 2015 Was the Most Violent Year for Journalists in Mexico

More journalists were threatened, abused, and murdered than any other year in Mexico's history.

Julie Morse Julie Morse · 10 hours ago

On February 8, 2015, Anabel Flores Salazar, a 32-year-old freelance journalist based in Veracruz, Mexico, was found dead on the side of the road in the neighboring state of Puebla.

That same week, award-winning journalist Aranzazú Ayala Martínez received numerous death threats on Twitter. A few days later, the hashtag #AniquilaUnPeriodistaPor (which translates to "annihilate a journalist because&quot became a trending topic on Twitter. Hundreds used the hashtag as a way to mock and insult the work of journalists in Mexico. Not a single government organization made an effort to speak out against the hashtag's cruelty.

These are just a few examples of the violence and threatening behavior journalists in Mexico experience on a regular basis. In fact, 2015 was the most violent year for journalists—including eight deaths—according to Article 19, an international human rights organization that presented some alarming statistics at a forum yesterday in Mexico City.

Aggressions against journalists jumped 58 percent in the last three years.

Article 19 uncovered 397 documented aggressions in 2015—71 more than in 2014. Since Peña Nieto was sworn in as president in 2012, the number of attacks has grown significantly. Aggressions against journalists jumped 58 percent in the last three years, according to Article 19.

More:
http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/why-2015-was-the-most-violent-year-for-journalists-in-mexico

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