Protest in support of Aristegui in front of MVS Radio
office. Photo: Octavio Gómez
I published a diary just a few days ago, In the grave of human rights, writers shout “enough”, about the danger faced by journalists who criticize the narco-terrorists or the Mexican government. The subject of freedom of the press in Mexico has come up again, in a big way.
It started with the establishment of a web site, Méxicoleaks. This site is the same idea as Wikileaks, but it's different in one important respect. Instead of being a renegade operation, it is supported by several Mexican heavy hitters, including Proceso magazine and journalist Carmen Aristegui.
Aristegui is the rock star of Mexican journalists. She is an anchor for CNN México, has a very popular news and commentary program on MVS Radio, and writes for the newspaper Reforma.
The trouble started because two of MVS Radio's reporters, Daniel Lizarraga and Irving Huerta, were also working for Méxicoleaks. These two reporters were responsible for exposing what is known in Mexico as the “White House” scandal; an expensive home was built for Mexico's First Lady, Angélica Rivera, by a construction company with close ties to Mexican President Enrique
Peña Nieto. MVS Radio took exception to Lizarraga and Huerta working for Méxicoleaks on their dime, and also claimed that their corporate identity was used in connection with Méxicoleaks without authorization. So, Lizarraga and Huerta were fired on March 12.
Aristegui had a lot to say about this in her program on MVS Radio the next day. If you can understand Spanish, give it a listen:
She said that she would not continue to work for MVS Radio unless Lizarraga and Huerta were rehired. She addressed several points made by the MVS Radio ombudsman. The commercial breaks were removed from this video clip; these breaks included statements from MVS Radio disassociating themselves from Méxicoleaks.
There has aready been one act of revenge. A group known as the Anonymous México collective claimed on March 14 that they hacked MVS Radio's web site. Here's one of many Spanish-language news stories: Hackean página de MVS por Aristegui
Article from Los Angeles Times: In Mexico, a hard-hitting journalist is getting her wings clipped, again
Article from Washington Post: Mexico’s version of WikiLeaks causes controversy before its first story