Journalism a Dangerous Profession in Mexico

Last week yet another journalist was kidnapped and murdered in Mexico, one of 97 who have been killed since 2010 with almost total impunity. Furthermore, most of the country’s media workers face police harassment or violence on a regular bases, as was the case with Antonio Aranda who was attacked while covering a police operation in the conflictive state of Michoacan. He says that seven or eight federal police spit on him and insulted him, kicked and hit him to make him turn loose of his camera, which he was unwilling to do. He filed a complaint with the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Rights of Journalists, but never received a response. President Enrique Peña Nieto and other public officials frequently boast of the freedom of expression that exists in Mexico, but rights groups argue that just the opposite is true. According to their statistics, 326 journalists were attacked in 2014, one every 26 hours, with an impunity level of 99%. Half of the attacks were committed by public officials or authorities. Clayton Conn reports from Mexico City for teleSUR