Mexico

This year has been difficult for journalists because of the growing violence that surpassed all set records and because of the conflicts that arose during the elections.

Media credibility – already low, did not improve during the electoral process due to fake news campaigns – despite attempts to counteract them through strategy with Verificado.com, as well as dirty campaigns among candidates via social networks.

The new administration headed by President-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador – who will take office on December 1, has said it will radically change relations with the media. On the one hand, Obrador spoke about reducing the amounts of official publicity, but on the other hand he did not express much clarity on how that relationship was going to be. There is concern about statements like: "we will give support to the media dedicated to investigative journalism" or "we will organize a prize for the best journalism."

In addition to this uncertainty about the relationship between the press and the government, there is the economic crisis worsened by the international price of paper and the reduction in advertising – which makes it increasingly difficult to ensure the sustainability of the newspaper business model.

During this period, eight journalists were murdered. Two other cases were due to common crimes such as robbery and femicide.

In addition to the 2018 murders – included in the Medellín report, of Carlos Domínguez, January 13; Pamela Montenegro, February 5; and Leobardo Vázquez, March 20, in this period the following journalists were murdered:

On May 15, Juan Carlos Huerta Gutiérrez – a journalist from Tabasco, was murdered at his home outside Villahermosa, Tabasco. Although it was initially said to have been an assault attempt, later the state governor, Arturo Núñez Jiménez, ruled out the robbery motive and confirmed that the journalist had been executed as he left his home. The assassins had come directly to attack him.

On May 29, the body of Héctor González Antonio – correspondent for the newspaper Excélsior and Grupo Imagen and other local media, was found beaten to death in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. The state Attorney General's Office has not yet moved forward with the investigations.

On June 3, María del Sol Cruz Jarquín – a photojournalist, was assassinated while covering the electoral process in Oaxaca. Pamela Zamari – second councilman candidate for the All for Mexico coalition of the PRI, PVEM and Panal, and daughter of Juan Terán Regalado – alleged leader of a criminal organization operating in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, was also shot at in the armed attack.

On July 10, Luis Pérez García – director of Encuesta Hoy magazine, was killed by a blow to the skull by subjects who entered his home in the Iztapalapa delegation in Mexico City.

On June 29, José Guadalupe Chan Dzib – reporter for the digital weekly Playa News Aquí y Ahora, was shot in a bar in the state of Quintana Roo, in the southeast of the country, according to the local prosecutor's office. The Mexican Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN-DH) condemned the murder and said it also had information about threats received by the journalist.

On July 24, Rubén Pat Cauich – who ran a small police news site called Semanario Playa News, was killed at 5 a.m. as he left the Arre bar, located a few blocks from Fifth Avenue in Playa del Carmen. On June 25, after publishing a story linking local authorities to organized crime, Pat filed a complaint with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for threats and torture by local police.

On August 5, Rodolfo García – a photographer and contributor to the weeklies Día Siete and Nuevo Milenio, was assassinated in Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato.

On September 22, Mario Gómez – reporter and correspondent for El Heraldo in Chiapas, was assassinated while leaving his home in the municipality of Yajalón.