In today’s blog post, I will be discussing Mexico’s freedom of expression and belief. According to the four main Freedom House questions that they use to judge a country’s freedom, the organization ranks a country’s freedom of expression and belief by using four separate categories. These are freedom of the media/press, religion, education, and personal liberties (Freedom House 2018). According to freedomhouse.org, freedom of expression is the “right of every individual to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” (Freedom House 2018). However, Freedom House realizes that this fundamental human right is not always granted to citizens, especially those of partly free countries like Mexico. Many partly free countries, including Mexico, have laws in place to protect freedom of expression. Nevertheless, these countries do not always abide by these laws, as they have the interests of government officials and elites in mind. Thus, Freedom House uses a holistic approach to measure freedom, to ensure all definitions of the word are considered and the reality of the situation is taken into account.
In my opinion, a country cannot be considered entirely free unless their citizens have the freedom of expression and belief. Freedom of expression and belief is a fundamental human right. It allows people to express unique opinions without worrying about the repercussions of their actions. Freedom of expression and belief affirms the self-worth of humans. The right to express one’s thoughts and to communicate freely with others affirms the dignity and worth of each and every member of society, and allows each individual to realize his or her full human potential. This allows for the progression and emersion of new knowledge and the search for the truth. All points of view need to be represented in a society so members of the society can choose which ideological stance they identify with. Without freedom of expression, a country will never be able to be fully free due to the fact that ideas and opinions will always be censored and the true state of the country will always be a mystery. Additionally, without the free exchange of new knowledge and ideas, the country will never grow intellectually and will be trapped with archaic ideals guiding the country.
My first article concerning Mexico’s freedom of expression and belief is an article written in September 2018 with the title, “Mexican journalist gunned down in Chiapas.” This article details how a local reporter named Mario Leonel Gómez Sánchez was shot by two unidentified gunmen (Committee to Protect Journalists 2018). Considering Gómez Sánchez reported on crime and violence in the area, it is undeniable that he was targeted by local gangs, drug cartels, or perhaps political candidates, as he may have damaged their reputation with his journalism. Gómez Sánchez received and reported death threats against him to political officials in Mexico, however the threats were never seriously investigated. This particular case is representative of Mexico’s attitude toward the freedom of expression and belief. The journalist expressed his opinion against people of power in the region and his life was taken away from him in retaliation. This demonstrates how Mexico’s political environment is completely intolerant of diverse opinions or stances, despite laws put in place to preserve freedoms. The killings of journalists all over Mexico have increased in the past few years, and only seems to be following an upward trend.
The second article concerning Mexico’s freedom of expression and belief I will be analyzing is titled, “Using Billions in Government Cash, Mexico Controls News Media” written by Azam Ahmed for the New York Times. This article details how the government of Mexico, specifically the president, pays major news outlets millions of dollars each year to censor their reports by including only positive things about the politicians in power. According to the article, two-thirds of Mexican journalists admit to censoring themselves (Ahmed 2018). This is detrimental to the media landscape of Mexico, as dishonest news reporters are awarded for lying on a daily basis. This creates a culture rich with bribery and lies. In Mexico’s current political climate, it is nearly impossible for the average citizen to generate a factually informed, political opinion due to the blatant lies drowning the media. In its entirety, this article shows how Mexico’s issue with freedom starts with the government. This makes it extremely difficult to make any effective change, as the individuals in power are the ones restricting the freedoms of citizens.
Resources
Ahmed, Azam. “Using Billions in Government Cash, Mexico Controls News Media.” The New York Times. December 25, 2017. Accessed October 05, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/world/americas/mexico-press-government-advertising.html.
Index on Censorship. “Why Is Free Speech Important?” Index on Censorship. September 28, 2018. Accessed October 05, 2018. https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/04/free-speech-important/.
“Methodology: Freedom in the World 2017.” Freedom House. September 26, 2017. Accessed October 04, 2018. https://freedomhouse.org/report/methodology-freedom-world-2017.
“Mexican Journalist Gunned down in Chiapas.” Committee to Protect Journalists. Accessed October 05, 2018. https://cpj.org/2018/09/mexican-journalist-gunned-down-in-chiapas.php.