Abstract
Two numbers are the initial evidence; the first is a large one: 30,000, which is a recent official count of those “executed” in the context of the violence against and among organized criminals from late 2006 until the end of 2010.1 The second is a small one: 66, which is the number of journalists killed or disappeared during the same period.2 The relation between the two numbers might be explained away as a matter of statistics; given the massive scale of the violence across the country, it is to be expected that each group of the population would be affected; this would make journalists no different from, say, ice-cream vendors. Yet, Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Regardless of how high the numbers are, the human cost cannot be measured. If we accept suggestions from President Felipe Calderón and other state representatives, however, the social cost is relative, as most of those 30,000, and probably a few of the 66, are criminals anyway.3
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Notes
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© 2012 George Philip and Susana Berruecos
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Piccato, P. (2012). “Ya saben quién”: Journalism, Crime, and Impunity in Mexico Today. In: Philip, G., Berruecos, S. (eds) Mexico’s Struggle for Public Security. Studies of The Americas. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137034052_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137034052_4
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