Laura's Blog: In Ciudad Juarez, a Newspaper Lashes Out at Impunity

The Sunday editorial by El Diario, the largest daily newspaper in war-torn Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, has received international press and caused a stir here in Mexico. But most articles on this extraordinary message missed the point of the editorial. The gist of it is not about freedom of expression. It's about the insanity of the drug war and the chaos that Ciudad Juarez--the showplace for Mexico's militarized approach to fighting cartels--has become.

It's worthwhile reading the whole editorial (translated to English by a blogger here, Spanish original here), because it will be no doubt be considered a classic by historians of Mexico's tragically self-defeating drug war. The editorial was written by a staff that has seen two of its reporters murdered in the past two years, the last one on Sept. 16. Many others have been wounded or received threats.

It's not surprising then, that the paper begins its editorial--an open letter to drug cartels titled "What Do You Want From Us?"--in a tone of desperation.

"We're communicators, not mind-readers... explain to us what you're trying to get us to publish and not publish so we can know how to adjust... We don't want to see more dead. We don't want to see more wounded nor do we want to be intimidated. It is impossible for us to do our job under these conditions. Tell us, then, what you expect from us, as a newspaper?"

The editorial goes on to justify its direct appeal to the cartels by bluntly describing the situation of power in Ciudad Juarez, "You [the drug cartels] are, at this time, the de facto authorities in this city, because the legally mandated institutions have not been able to do anything to keep our colleagues from being murdered, even though we have repeatedly demanded action from them."

The frustration expressed by the newspaper comes from experience--the murder of an El Diario reporter in 2008 shows no signs of ever being solved by officials. Its reporters are at risk on a daily basis, with no effective protection mechanisms in place.

Many news media, including AP reported the story as the latest expression of self-censorship in the face of cartel coercion. But the New York Times and the Washington Post articles correctly note that El Diario has no intention of muzzling itself.

The real significance of El Diario's remarkable editorial is that it blows the cover off government contentions that its drug war is protecting the population. The plaintive open letter to the drug cartels is a scathing indictment of government action--and inaction--in a region in deep crisis.

El Diario lashes out against the "vacuum of power" in Ciudad Juarez and the lack of protection for journalists. It goes further, and exposes Calderón's drug war, from the epicenter of the most militarized--and most insecure--part of the country.

"Over the past years, the history is well-known: to obtain the legitimacy he did not receive in the polls, the president thrust us into a war on organized crime--without an adequate strategy, without knowing the true dimensions of the enemy, or the consequences that this confrontation would have for the country.

"Unwittingly stuck in the middle of the conflict, Mexicans--and especially Juarez residents-- have been at the mercy of erroneous decisions that ended up sweeping them up, with results that are well-known and abhorred by the majority.

"The government as a protector of the human rights of its citizens, and by extension of media workers--has been absent during these years of warring, even thoughit has offered a pretence of action through varios maneuvers that in practice have been gigantic failures," the editorial asserts.


Government reaction was swift. Broadsided by an expression of public indignation over its core security strategy, the federal government launched a counter-attack. Calderon security advisor Alejandro Poiré issued a patriarchal scolding to the newspaper for proposing a truce with cartels, stating that "no-one has the right to pact, promote or a truce or negotiate with the criminals who are the ones that cause anxiety amongst the population, kidnap, extort, assassinate and poison the population..." He added the oft-repeated refrain that the commitment of all should be to "combat and defeat them definitively."

Then, adding insult to injury, Poiré announced his opinion on Sept. 20 that the murder of the El Diario photographer was related to "personal motives" and stated that there are no indications of "participation for motives of freedom of expression."

The El Diario staff called Poire's speculation "premature" and demanded a full investigation, saying it would not accept any attempt by the government to present scapegoats or wash its hands of the affair. The paper noted that the government's theory that the crime was personal is highly doubtful, since its photograher, Luis Carlos Santiago, was shot at nine times and his colleague pursued by the attackers. Also a warning note, typical of targeted hits, was left near the crime site. Reporters without Borders notes that this is the eleventh reporter murdered this year in Mexico.

Pedro Torres, the editorial director of El Diario, also reacted angrily to the accusations that the paper was acquiescing to coercion. In an interview with the Mexican daily La Jornada, he stated, "The utter lack of results in the fight against organized crime gives the federal government no moral authority to question the efforts of El Diario to stop the attacks on our reporters on the border."

Violence and impunity go hand in hand in creating the crisis in Ciudad Juarez. The drug cartels are directly responsible for the former; the Mexican government is wholly responsible for the latter and for the failure of a strategy that the U.S continues to blindly support.

Laura Carlsen