Journalists hold framed pictures of late photojournalist Margarito Martinez during a protest for the killings of Margarito and journalist Lourdes Maldonado in the same week, outside the headquarters of the municipal police in Tijuana, Mexico January 24, 2022. | PHOTO: REUTERS/Jorge Duenes
MEXICO CITY — Mexican journalists on Tuesday were set to start nationwide protests in 28 cities and towns to denounce the recent murders of three reporters, demanding an end to impunity that has often characterized the killings of their colleagues.
The planned protests follow the murder of seasoned journalist Lourdes Maldonado on Sunday, some three years after she raised the issue of killings with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and said she feared for her life.
Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for reporters, and some 145 journalists have been killed between 2000-2021, according to Article 19, an advocacy group.
Mexican journalist networks voted to stage the gatherings, which will coincide with online protest campaigns.
“It is a matter of urgency that state and federal authorities prevent attacks, protect journalists when they are victims, and investigate crimes committed against the press with due diligence,” Article 19 said in a statement.
Maldonado’s murder in the northern border city of Tijuana, where she worked as a reporter for many years, followed the killings of two other Mexican journalists this month.
Lopez Obrador, who has been criticized for not doing more to protect reporters, said his government would investigate and “clear up this crime to prevent further murders of journalists”.
Critics say Lopez Obrador has failed to deliver on pledges to reduce violence, combat deeply entrenched organized crime, or reduce impunity. The president says crime and violence are the products of chronic corruption and inequality in Mexico.
