Death, kidnapping, and disappearance are the main strategies used by mem¬bers of organized crime to silence, intimidate, attack, and harass journalists in Mexico, in some cases with the tolerance and complicity of governments in power.

From “La Mañanera,” the televised daily news conference/lecture through which former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promoted his poli¬cies, he used all his power to attack, disqualify, lie, and foment hatred against journalists who did not share his ideals. He dared to promote the slogan “hugs not bullets,” openly meeting with relatives of members of organized crime and minimizing the dangerous and criminal actions carried out by drug-traffick¬ing groups against society.

The current administration of Claudia Sheinbaum, from the Morena Party, seems to follow the same logic as López Obrador. The cases of dead, missing, and kidnapped communicators and media workers do not seem to stop. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in the last thirty years, 153 journalists have been executed and thirty are missing, putting Mexico at the top of the list as the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist. The true number of murdered and missing journalists is likely much higher than official reports suggest.

We want to thank the University of Oregon for the “Extra! Extra! Don't Kill the Messenger” symposium. It is in our interest to be with you, to denounce what is happening in Mexico, to ask for solidarity, to ask for support, and to acknowledge how Mexico has become a cemetery of journalists. Like the docu¬mentary State of Silence, “Extra! Extra!” made visible the sad and painful situa¬tion of journalists who are forced to leave their communities or go into exile to save their lives and that of their relatives. The documentary, exhibited at the symposium, is raising awareness in the countries where it has been screened. The film tells the story of four Mexican journalists who fled their communities to save their lives. It presents shocking images and the testimonies of journalists including the two of us, natives of Chiapas.

We have denounced labor crimes and sexual exploitation of minors of Central American origin.