Press freedom faced a complex landscape during this period, particularly due to the use of judicial and regulatory instruments to limit criticism and dissent.
Press freedom faced a complex landscape during this period, particularly due to the use of judicial and regulatory instruments to limit criticism and dissent.
President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed opposition to censorship; however, she also implemented measures that reinforce government control over media access and telecommunications regulation.
Opacity surrounding official advertising remains a critical issue. Although there is greater state investment in media compared to the previous administration, discretionary rules still exist that favor some outlets over others.
Three individuals indirectly linked to informal news platforms and social media were murdered. However, evidence suggests that these incidents were not related to journalistic work, but instead to the broader context of general violence.
Judicial harassment has been solidified as one of the main mechanisms of censorship. Governors, legislators, and officials have used figures such as “gender-based political violence” and defamation lawsuits to suppress criticism. Cases in the states of Campeche and Sonora were the most prominent. Still, sanctions were also recorded in Veracruz, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas, affecting established journalists who were active citizens on social media.
Article 19 Mexico published a report in August, titled “Laws as a Mechanism of Censorship: Increasing Judicial Harassment Against Journalists in Mexico,” which documents 51 cases of judicial harassment in the first half of the year.
Campeche Governor Layda Sansores filed a complaint against Jorge Luis González Valdez, former director of the newspaper Tribuna. The journalist was linked to a case for incitement to hatred and gender-based violence. A judge ordered the closure of the newspaper for two years and prohibited him from practicing journalism during that period. Additionally, a censor was assigned to review his columns before publication to prevent him from mentioning the governor. González Valdez also faces a civil lawsuit filed by Walther Patrón Bacab, the government’s spokesperson. The governor also sued reporters Abraham and Carlos Martínez.
Citizen Karla María Estrella was sanctioned by the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary for a comment on X regarding nepotism between Deputy Sergio Gutiérrez Luna and his wife. She was fined, required to issue a public apology for thirty days, and registered in the National Registry of Persons Sanctioned for Gender-Based Political Violence until 2027. Estrella announced that she will take the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
In May, former legal advisor to the Tamaulipas government, Tania Contreras López, filed a defamation and gender-based political violence lawsuit against columnist Héctor de Mauleón and the newspaper El Universal for a column titled “Huachicol and the Judiciary in Tamaulipas,” in which de Mauleón reported alleged corruption networks related to illegal fuel trafficking, bribes, and extortion. Although the Electoral Institute concluded that there was no gender-based political violence, it upheld the order to remove the column. It also sanctioned El Universal with a fine, required a public apology, and mandated reparatory measures. The decision appealed to the Electoral Tribunal of Tamaulipas.
The newspaper Vanguardia in Saltillo faced commercial litigation, allegedly over a decades-old debt, which resulted in an order to seize the newspaper’s assets. The outlet reported that the trial was resolved with extraordinary speed, weak legal reasoning, and potential conflicts of interest, raising doubts about the impartiality of the judiciary. Other actions against the newspaper, including state operations, surveillance, and intimidation of staff, reinforced the perception of judicial harassment. The IAPA and other organizations described the ruling as an indirect attack aimed at silencing critical information.
The government of Puebla approved an amendment to the state Penal Code in June, introducing the crime of “cyber-harassment.” Under this provision, individuals who repeatedly insult, defame, offend, aggravate, or demean another person via social media, email, or other digital platforms, causing emotional harm or risk to their emotional integrity, could face up to three years in prison and a fine of approximately 40,000 pesos. The reform was justified as a measure to combat digital crimes, such as harassment, identity theft, grooming, and online violence, although it could also impact journalistic texts. Following protests from the press, legislators moderated the text to protect journalistic work.
Journalists and several NGOs reported that, under this government, the Transparency Office for the People rejected 99.6 percent of information requests. This office was established to replace the now-defunct National Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection.
President Sheinbaum has maintained a complex and ambivalent relationship with the press. In her press conferences, she eliminated the “Who’s Who in Lies” segment, which her predecessor had institutionalized. However, she retained a weekly segment called “Lie Detector” to respond to government critics. She also removed the usual lottery system for asking questions, reserving the right to choose who may speak. It was interpreted as a sign of greater control over media access.
Recently, Sheinbaum has radicalized her rhetoric against the press in response to outlets linking officials from the previous administration to corruption cases. She also defended her predecessor and his son, Andrés López Beltrán. However, she described judicial harassment against journalists in various states as “excessive.”
The president publicly rejected censorship by asking the Senate to block an article of the new Telecommunications Law that would have authorized the government to block digital platforms.
