1. Media and war on drugs
Doing journalism in times of trouble: War on drugs
and freedom of expression in Mexico
By María Elena Meneses
Research assistant Talía Murillo
Tecnológico de Monterrey- University of North
Carolina Chapel Hill, march-2010

2. Doing journalism in times of trouble.
War on drugs and freedom of speech in Mexico
By Maria Elena Meneses
Research assistant: Talía Murillo
El Diario de Juárez, 2009

3. Mexico’s images around the world

4. Mexico: a dangerous place for journalists
Mexico is the second most dangerous
country for exercising journalism
after Iraq.
International News
Safety Institute, 2009
Christoph Bangert

5. Mexico: a dangerous place for journalists
Tele Atlas, Transnavicom, Europa Technologies,
2010

6. Mexico: a dangerous place for journalists
Tele Atlas, Transnavicom, Europa Technologies,
2010

7. Drug Trafficking: A Global issue
• Producers
• Consumers
• International distribution networks

8. Heroin
International
Distribution
Networks
Cocaine
Marijuana
Hashish
European Parliament
WWW.EUROPARL.EUROPA.EU

9. Drug Trafficking: A Global issue
Mexico has
fundamentally been
a producer and
distributor country
through the known
cartels and criminal
organizations.
Poppy flower in Guerrero La Jornada, March 2010

10. North America
David
The UN estimates that Høgsholt
around 200 000 people a
year consume drugs at
least once a year.
North America consumes
the 75% of drugs.
UN and Organization of
American States (OAS),
2009

11. A great business
Seized money from Zhen Li Ye Gon “El Chino” in 2007
La Jornada, 2007

12. A great business
Worldwide: 320 billion dollars.
Mexico: drug trafficking is
worth 19 billion dollars,
occupying half a million
people.
United Nations, 2009

13. A great business
Drug trafficking
employed 25%
more people than
what Mc Donald’s
did worldwide.
Expansión magazine, 2009.

14. A way to obtain a job
In 60% of the Mexican
municipalities there are
people employed in
organized crime.
Ramón Galindo, Mexican Senator

15. Mexican war on drugs
• Poverty
• Lack of opportunities
• Corruption Benjamín Flores, 2001
• Impunity
• Neighborhood with the US

16. President Calderon’s war on drugs
More than 30 000
soldiers and policemen
US moral and
Intelligence
support
Proceso Foto 2008

17. Mexican cartels
New York Times, 2009

18. Consequences
15 thousand deaths
More than 7 thousand
traffickers captured
One big lord
Arturo Beltrán Leyva
El Universal, 2009

19. Consequences
One execution every 65
minutes
Violence climate in the
whole country
Mexican Senate and Center
for Journalism and Public Ethics
www.cepet.org
Reforma, 2009

20. Morelia’s drama
La Nación, 2008

21. How do criminals use journalists?
Proceso foto, 2010

22. Drug
messages
Proceso foto,
2008

23. Assassinations of journalists
From 2000 to 2009
57 journalists were killed
in Mexico
Most of them under impunity
Trials are opened
RSF, 2010

24. Ethical dilemmas
Primera Hora de Sinaloa 2009
To cover or not to cover?
If I get a picture… am I an
accomplice?
Mario Campos, Proceso foto 2004

25. 2009
12 Mexican journalists were killed
Jean Paul Ibarra, El Correo, murdered on February 13th
Luis Daniel Méndez, murdered on February 23th
Carlos Ortega, El Tiempo, murdered on May 3th
Eliseo Barron, La Opinión Milenio, kidnapped and murdered on May
26 th
Martín Miranda, Panorama Radio, murdered on July 12th
Ernesto Montañez, Enfoque Magazine, murdered on July 14th
Daniel Martínez, Radiorama, murdered on July 27th

26. 2009
Norbert Miranda, Radio Visión murdered on September 23th
Fabián Ramirez, Magia Radio station, murdered on
November 11
th
Vladimir Antuna, El Tiempo de Durango, murdered on
November 2
nd
José Galindo, Radio Universidad de Guadalajara found death
on December 24
th
José Velázquez, Expresiones de Tulum.
Source: Center for Journalism and Public Ethics.
www.cepet.org

27. Violations against the freedom of speech
183 journalists suffered from some type of threat or extortion in
Mexico.
Journalists are victims of Levantones ( express kidnappings)
Most of them occurred in Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla
and Mexico City
Source: Center for Journalism and
Public Ethics. www.cepet.org

28. Violations against the freedom of speech
In one out of every
three attacks the
police forces have
been involved…
the same forces that
guarantee the order in
times of organized
crime.
Proceso foto, 2009

29. Implications for journalism
• Self-censorship
• Journalists do not count with reliable
sources
• The official information is the one that
flows but it is partial
• The coverage limits itself to give the
list of deaths or traffickers captured

30. Implications for journalism
“The confusion is permanent: incessant
crimes do not allow to distinguish sides
or reasons, the dead bodies pile up each
day in the pages and do not allow to see
the forest”
MARIA IDALIA GOMEZ Y DARIO FRITZ
(Mexican journalists talking about covering drug
trafficking)

31. Most violent cities
Ciudad Juarez (Mexico)
Caracas (Venezuela)
New Orleans (USA)
Tijuana (Mexico)
Bagdad takes the 10th place
Source: Citizen Council for Public Security

32. Interview
Journalist Jorge Luis Aguirre
From La Polaka website
El Paso, Texas

33. Ethical dilemmas
How to inform without being a speaker
of the parts involved: the government
or the crime?

34. Ethical dilemmas
Servando Gomez Martinez “La Tuta”
(from La Familia cartel)
interviewed by Milenio

35. What has Mexican media done ?
Televisa and
Excelsior have
decided not
to record any
narcomensaje
Other media
-like Milenio-
have even
interviewed
criminals

36. What has Mexican media done ?
Some -like
Proceso- have
stopped
signing the
news stories
Others have
chosen self-
censorship
Protests in front of the PGR office.
Proceso foto, 2009

37. What should journalists do?
• Spread the news, “as an independent monitor of any
type of power”.
• Take care of themselves and media should provide
them with training.
• Journalists should be responsible in their coverage.
• Take a field camp notebook, have a close
relationship with their editor –to whom they must
inform of all their steps.
•
• Also gather with sources in public places.

38. What should journalists do?
A journalist is not the prosecutor,
he is just a translator that
explains and helps understand the
complex reality of society.
Reports, statistics and sources’
testimonies should be confronted.
Using leaks it’s OK, but through
an accurate verification.

39. What Society needs to know…
• Authorities corruption
• Army, policemen and politicians
• Money laundry
• Impunity
• Conflict of interest

40. The case of Colombia
To move journalists from zones of risk to safer ones.
Provide training in the coverage of organized crime.
Give life insurances and protection to family members
of the journalists at risk.
Lower the number of assassinations through
intelligence reports.
Plan Antonio Nariño

41. Thank you
María Elena Meneses
Former TV journalist
Professor and researcher at Tecnológico
de Monterrey
marmenes@itesm.mx
twitter@marmenes
My blog:
http://enmediostec.blogspot.com/
Talía Murillo Monroy
Journalism student at Tecnológico de Monterrey
Assistant producer at MVS Noticias
chuleton@gmail.com

42. Special Thanks to:
-Reuters TV Mexico bureau
-Center for Journalism and Public
Ethics for bringing us The Anual
Report one day before it went
public. The complete report 2009 :
www.cepet.org
- Jorge Luis Aguirre
www.lapolaka.com
- Itzel Barrón Chirino