On the 24th and 25th of October 2022, the EU-LAT Network organises two events in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, on What it means to be a journalist in Mexico and Central America.
In recent years, we have witnessed a deterioration of the situation that journalists in Mexico and Central America are suffering. The region has experienced a restriction of civic and democratic space that has manifested itself not only in attacks on press freedom through restrictive laws, but also in an increase in violence. So far, in 2022 alone, Mexico has registered 13 murders of journalists, thus making it the most dangerous country in the world for the exercise of this profession.
The murder of journalists in Mexico; in Central America, physical threats, several forms of harassments and risks for persecution have obliged many journalists to flee their countries, such as the curtailing of press freedom through law and the detention of journalists. These are just a few examples of the much deeper and alarming trend that the region is facing. The shrinking of spaces for civil society in Mexico and Central America is a terrible reality, especially for those committed to democracy, justice, accountability and transparency.
As stated by Salvadoran journalist Carlos Dada, “Now, after a mere three decades of democratic life, authoritarianism is back in Central America and with it, attacks on the press. […] Silence is not an option. Our word is our power, our contribution to our communities, and our fate. And we must use our word to break the monologues of power.”
