New From Mexico Reporter

Mexico Reporter has two new troubling posts. The first, published today, reports on journalist Lydia Cacho and the Mexican Supreme Court. Cacho (background here and here) apparently made waves last night by announcing in Mexico City that all six Supreme Court judges presiding over her case against Puebla Governor Mario Marin had been bribed.

Next up on Mexico Reporter, a spate of violence against journalists the past week continues to make Mexico one of the most dangerous countries for journalists behind Iraq.

I'd say happy reading, but nothing very uplifting about any of that. It's worth checking out all the same.

Mexico: The Candidates and the Media

From Mexico Reporter:

A new electoral reform goes into effect in Mexico today that aims to redefine the relationship between the country’s major broadcasters and the government, and to level the political playing field. The changes to the constitution could help improve the quality of media editorial in Mexico, and help it to become more politically independent than it currently is. In a move which has been labeled an ‘attack on free speech’ by Mexico’s two major television stations, Televisa and Tele Azteca, political parties have been banned from buying ads on television and radio stations. Protests from the country’s two leading broadcasters are more likely due to the fact that they stand to loose [sic] millions of pesos of advertising income as a result of the reforms, rather than concerns for the right to free speech. Constitutional amendments mean that television and radio stations are now obliged to broadcast 48 minutes a day of free political advertising, forbidding parties from buying their own airtime. Presidential campaigning will also be limited to within three months before election day, and bans political parties from mud-slinging or insulting other political institutions and candidates.

I'm not even sure what to think about this. It's certainly an improvement in many ways over the current barrage of propaganda that Mexico's reigning political parties pump into the popular media, and thus the entire atmosphere with every election cycle (sound familiar, America?). On the other hand, who's to say in a "free market" that corporations, media outlets, political parties and individual candidates don't get to sell what resources they have, buy what resources they can afford, and let the market decide what it wants? Of course public monies should remain neutral, but should governments legislate how individuals or entities spend their own pesos or dollars?

Here's what I really want to know: will this reform genuinely "level the playing field?" Don't get me wrong. The current system is corrupt, busted, morally bankrupt, and far from democratic. In my increasing skepticism, though, I find it hard to take anything at face value. What's the motivation behind this new amendment, where does it come from, who are the players? I find it hard to imagine that anything ratified by Mexico's politicians is designed to help the little guy.

Mexico Reporter

Meet my new favorite English language website for Mexican news: Mexico Reporter. The layout is appealing, the writing is great, the site is easy to navigate. And it's actually a Wordpress blog, which, frankly, judging by their results, fills my generic little Blogger template with petty envy.

This post caught my attention, and I went on to read a whole passel of others. In a nutshell, the post summarizes an article from the daily newspaper Milenio, reporting that the government of Oaxaca, after first being accused of not doing enough in response to the murder of American indy journalist Brad Will, is close to successfully closing its investigation. Specifically, "The newspaper report also noted that the Special Prosecutors [sic] Office for Crimes Against Journalists is very close to ‘solving the crime’." Good news, right?

Wait. This, says Mexico Reporter, "will dismay groups lobbying for justice in the case of Brad Will, such as The Friends of Brad Will and the Committee to Protect Journalists."

Here's the disconnect: Even though Will filmed his own murder and that footage is widely available (it's on YouTube; caution, highly disturbing content), and Brad Will and others captured images of his assailants*, word coming out of the Attorney General's office is that Will was killed from a distance of 50 centimeters, not the 30 meters originally supposed. This suggestion is being used, it seems, to support the notion that the journalist was not killed by government strongmen but by a member of the APPO, for reasons as to which we can only speculate (one of the more popular theories I've encountered is that the government means to suggest that APPO operatives, or some fringe element within the group, desperately sought to attract international attention by any means).

I, of course, can't comment on the thoroughness of the investigation, the veracity of accounts on either side of the conflict, or even on the reliability, in the end, of information presented in the videotape. All I can say is the government line is hard to swallow. **

The challenge of filtering information and assessing what to believe is no different in Oaxaca than anywhere else in the world. People with vested interests work very hard to ensure that their interests are met (asses are covered) and that's just a fact of life wherever you go. For me it becomes a little harder here because of my mediocre Spanish: I get the gist of what I read in the newspapers and on Spanish language websites, but the finer points are lost on me. So I welcome Mexico Reporter into my life at a time where I need all the help I can get to just understand the events of daily life as they unfold in Oaxaca and in Mexico.

*Photo published by Narco News with credit to El Universal. These men appear to have been shooting in the direction of Brad Will prior to the footage of his actual death. These men are not seen--as far as I can tell--in the actual footage when Brad Will is struck by gunfire. Here is a link to a longer version of the tape that Will shot, which includes images of the men shooting in Will's direction.

**My uncle, after reading this summer's posts from Oaxaca, called me politically naive. I can hear him choking on his Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger right now: "Jesus Christ! Of course the government is lying!"