Last year Mexico was the world’s most dangerous country for journalists after Syria and Afghanistan, according to Reporters Without Borders. But Mexican journalists are concerned for their American colleagues.
In a March 6 letter written through PEN International, the global writers’ group that promotes freedom of expression, they condemned the “unprecedented, relentless assault on the free press of the United States by the Trump administration.” It was signed by some 200 journalists, writers, and publishers.
“You have stood with us during the darkest hours of press freedom in Mexico and, although we never could believe this day would come, we now stand with you,” it said.
Trump’s war on the media, of course, doesn’t involve the kind of life-threatening attacks that have become routine in Mexico. Nearly 40 reporters have been killed there for doing their work since 1994, and nearly 50 more for “unconfirmed” motives, per statistics from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
That’s perhaps why Mexican journalists are so keen to defend the freedom and safety their American counterparts enjoy, including in Mexico itself. In their letter, the Mexican writers acknowledged the work of the American press of reporting on their own country. “We urge you to continue to uphold freedom of expression as your society, institutions, and values depend upon it,” they wrote.