Name? Lourdes Maldonado López
Westphalian identity? Mexican
Age? 52
Why is she in the news? Lourdes Maldonado López is one of three journalists who were murdered last week in Mexico. Her death has highlighted the rampant violence that journalists face across Mexico and sparked widespread protests in the country by journalists and citizens alike.
Why do we care? Because independent journalism is essential for everyone, especially IR consultants (aka us) who depend on their findings to make sense of the world. When threats and violence against journalists increase, the quality of their journalism decreases as they must operate out of a climate of fear; a climate only worsened by increasing impunity rates. If you still aren’t convinced, just look at the Khashoggi case … or Maldonado López …
Why should you care? Because Mexico is the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist. It is followed by Afghanistan and Yemen, literal war-zones, a fact that would make one wonder… Violence are not new in Mexico, but a cavalier attitude towards violence and the normalisation of democratic backsliding is increasing around the world. You should care 5/10 about scepticism towards the media and fake news being instrumentalised to repress journalists like Maldonado López.
Who else cares? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under Modi, press freedoms in India have steadily shrunk since he was first elected in 2014 and moved the largest democracy in the world to rank 142 of the global press freedom index. Most evident in the Indian-administered Kashmir where the government shut down the Kashmir Press Club, the only independent press club in the region.
Any further comments? The death of Maldonado López and her colleagues triggered a nationwide conversation surrounding the failures of the judicial system to investigate these murders. It is easy to blame almighty Mexican drug cartels for this violence. Truth is, journalists are threatened by most institutions, including local governments, as they uncover political corruption in their cities.
