Mexico: CFWIJ Horrified At The Murder Of Lourdes Maldonado López
Location: Mexico, Tijuana
Date: January 24, 2022
Photo Credit: BBC
Journalist Lourdes Maldonado López was shot by unidentified assailants while she was in her car on Sunday. She is the third journalist to have been murdered in the country this year. She had earlier informed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that she fears for her life and asked for help. The reasons behind the killing remain unknown and no one has been arrested in relation to the incident.
Mexico has proven to be one of the most difficult countries for journalists to operate in over the past several years. Members of the press often find themselves threatened by drug cartels that are operational in the country. Lourdes death comes less than a week after the murder of photojournalist Margarito Martínez outside this home in the same city. Earlier this month, José Luis Gamboa Arenas was killed in Veracruz. Arenas was a crime journalist.
Lourdes had approached President Obrador in a press conference in Maldonado in 2019, where she requested his "support, help and labour justice" as she admitted that there were threats to her life. At the time she was referring to a dispute with her former employer Jaime Bonilla, owner of the PSN media network and later the elected governor of Baja California, affiliated with the President's party. Lourdes had sued PSN for unfair dismissal and had won her lawsuit against them only last week, after nine years of struggle. Both Mr. Bonilla and representatives of the PSN news network have not made any public statement regarding the incident as of yet.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is horrified at the murder of Lourdes Maldonado López and demands an immediate investigation into it. The deteriorating state of press safety in the country has become a major cause of concern for our organization. It appears that the state is willing to sacrifice the country's journalists at the altar of power, which does not bode well for the civil rights of its citizens. It is thus, important, that Lourdes's case be taken on with considerable urgency and those responsible for the incident be brought to justice.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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