By Natalia Rueda 
The recent surge in violence against members of the press in Mexico is an alarming reminder that Mexico remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world to practice journalism. Just in the first half of this year, five journalists have been murdered, according to media reports, signaling an ever-growing list of attacks against press freedom.
On July 15, Nelson Matus Peña, director of Mexico-based news portal Lo Real de Guerrero, was shot to death on the street in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood in Acapulco. Reports indicate that Matus Peña had been the victim of an attack in 2019, where he had been shot but was not injured. On July 8 Luis Martin Sánchez Iñiguez, a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, was found dead with signs of violence accompanied by two pieces of cardboard with a handwritten legend. In May, Marco Aurelio Ramírez Hernández, another journalist, was shot outside his home in the municipality of Tehuacán, Puebla, last May.
With these latest attacks, the toll of journalists killed in Mexico since 2000 rises to more than 150, according to the organization Article 19. In fact, 2017 and 2022 were the deadliest years for journalism in the country, surpassing only Ukraine. Mexico’s worsening rights record is a cause for urgency among the international community, yet violence against journalists continues to go largely unpunished.
In the face of such violence, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged Mexican authorities to take immediate action, noting that the wave of violence against press in the country is “hitting like a tsunami.” Family members and fellow journalists have organized multiple protests to call attention to their situation and demand justice for their lost loved ones.
The dilemma of press freedom in Mexico is not one that can be fixed with merely words, but with concrete action. It is time for Mexican authorities to act swiftly and decisively to ensure the safety of journalists in the country, beginning with appropriate and full investigations into the continued murders of journalists in the country.