In November 2010 journalist Gabriel Michi, president of the Argentine Press Forum (Fopea), took part in the 1st International Meeting of Journalists of the Three-Nation Border Zone held in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.

During an interview with the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) on that occasion he spoke of the case of news photographer José Luis Cabezas, murdered on January 25, 1997 in the Argentine coastal town of Pinamar.

Cabezas was kidnapped, beaten, handcuffed, tortured and then killed by several shots to the head, after which his body was burned inside a car.

Speaking of this Michi told how Argentine journalists put pressure on the authorities for the crime not to go unpunished. He went on to review the current state of the press in Mexico, suggesting various options to combat impunity in that country.

“When we suffered the worst attack on freedom of expression since the restoration of democracy, with the murder of José Luis Cabezas, we attempted to get together, both Cabezas’ colleagues at the Noticias magazine and journalists from other places. In this case in particular it was important for there to be a common interest among journalists and news companies in acknowledging that this was a very serious development,” Michi said.

“We modified the way we worked regarding personal safety, for example walking the wrong way down the street and organizing a telephone network so that each of us could let colleagues know when he or she arrived home. We sought to show that we were united and in addition to calling on the courts we organized demonstrations demanding that the murder not go unpunished, so that the issue be raised by the news media on an ongoing basis, and to control what would happen at the judicial level and prevent any attempt at political interference.

“This took months and months. We managed to obtain the conviction of all the murderers. Then, with the passage of time and as a consequence of the legal system in our country, they were released one by one.

“The situation in Mexico is dramatic. I am in contact with many colleagues and I know that the difference between reporting a news item or not can be the difference between life and death. In situations such as that in Ciudad Juárez, among other cities, one can’t imagine what it means, for example, that at 6:00 p.m. there is an unofficial curfew declared by armed groups, thus leaving the streets empty.

“We are working along with other organizations throughout the world to define what we can do for the Mexican journalists. We issue a number of press releases calling on the political authorities of Mexico and the arras where the crimes of greatest violence occur, to ensure the protection of these journalists. Often they have to abandon those places and completely change their way of life, as do their families. Some media explained why they could no longer talk of certain topics, due to the gravity of the situation.

“The problem arises when these topics end up being ‘untouchable.’ When something becomes thus, people do not raise any questions. One of the main roles of journalists and news media is to say, ‘This is not right. What can we do about it?’

“It is a fact that the issue of criminality in the area also has a lot to do with the border with the United States, as the main purchaser of drugs is the U.S. market, while there has been a big increase in European consumption via Mexico. Another problem is that the criminal gangs have managed to infiltrate the country’s institutions, manipulating judges, police officers and politicians.

“We are thinking about options such as sending special missions of journalists to stay on site only a short time, with the aim of covering the news there and lending support. Another option is to apply pressure on the Mexican federal and state governments that fail to provide guarantees for freedom of expression, seeing that they receive international condemnation. At the same time, it is very difficult when what are involved are criminal groups of such complexity.

“I insist that what is important is to unite.

“These mafias in general have power because they manage to generate such great fear that people lock themselves up. The best antidote is precisely to make networks so that if something occurs immediately there are other journalists on site to do the coverage.

“I think that in addition what’s needed is to find new ways of transmitting information so that it be more attractive from the journalistic point of view. When a month had passed after Cabezas’ murder we organized a march. We staged a different demonstration every month, with black balloons, with well-known personalities, cultural events with artistes who have influence on the people, to commit them to not allowing the press to be silenced. Ingenious methods can be found of speaking about the issue and the danger and what that means not only for journalists and news media but for society as a whole.

“The Mexican people are suffering this first-hand. The journalists and the media are in the eye of the storm.”