Figures that hurt! Mexico continues to be the most dangerous place to be a journalist

By Jesus Vargas

In the year 2025, Mexico will remain the most dangerous country to practice journalism in Latin America, according to the report Structures of Silence: censorship, opacity and surveillance of the organization Article 19. This document details an alarming panorama: reporting in Mexico continues to be a high-risk activity, in a context marked by lethal violence, impunity and the use of institutional pressure mechanisms.

A lethal year for communicators

During 2025, Article 19 documented the murder of seven journalists, one disappearance and 451 attacks, placing Mexico first in the region in lethal violence against the press. Together with Guatemala and Honduras, these countries added 12 homicides of communicators, evidencing a widespread crisis in Central America.

The report highlights that these attacks are not isolated incidents, but are part of a pattern of violence and structural impunity. Of the 451 documented attacks, 199 corresponded to a “hostile environment” (44.12%), 151 to abuse of public power (33.48%) and 53 to physical violence and direct attacks (11.75%).

Threats and stigmatization as weapons

One of the most frequent mechanisms of aggression are threats, with 112 documented cases, which means that in Mexico a journalist is threatened every four days. In addition, 65 cases of stigmatization were recorded, of which 60% came from authorities or political actors. These discourses, far from being neutral, can become triggers for aggression in a context of violence.

Lethal violence and persistent impunity

Since 2000, at least 176 journalists have been murdered in Mexico due to their work, while 32 remain missing. In 2025, eight murder attempts were also recorded. Article 19 denounces “structural impunity,” pointing out that the majority of investigations fail to consider journalistic work as the main line, also presenting serious deficiencies, including practices of revictimization.

The State as a pressure mechanism

The report also points out the use of the state apparatus as a tool of censorship. During 2025, 67 journalists and media faced legal proceedings: 29 of an electoral nature, 17 criminal, 13 civil and eight administrative. In 73.13% of these cases, the actions were promoted by officials or political actors, turning the justice system into a means to inhibit journalistic practice, beyond seeking to win the cases.

Obstacles in access to information

The document warns about obstacles in access to information, detecting a pattern of incomplete, non-existent or unjustified responses in official requests. It was reported that 32% of the responses were incomplete, 53.3% indicated a lack of information and 84% of respondents identified repeated practices of opacity. Furthermore, it was criticized that the “Transparency for the People” body discarded close to 99.6% of the review resources in its first months, prioritizing administration over substantive analysis.

Digital censorship and forced displacement

In the digital sphere, 17 cases of online censorship were documented, where journalistic content was eliminated or restricted, in an environment characterized by opacity and low traceability. At the territorial level, the cities of Mexico and Puebla stand out as red lights, where violence against the press has forced many journalists to travel to protect their integrity.