Mexico: Ciudad Juarez Governor Jurado’s discriminatory behaviour towards journalist Lucy Sosa is unacceptable

MEXICO, Ciudad Juárez, March 2, 2020 -- Mexican journalist Lucy del Carmen Sosa has filed a complaint against Javier Corral Jurado, the Governor of Chihuahua, for violation of her rights to information. He disregarded her queries during two different press conferences held on February 17 and 24, respectively.

The Governor was negligent towards Lucy - an El Dario reporter and co-founder of the Network of Journalists of Juarez - and swept her question under the rug with a mere ‘whatever’ in response. We condemn this behaviour and urge Jurado to be more receptive to the press, particularly women journalists.

On February 17, the state government convened a press conference where, like any other journalist, Lucy asked Javier about El Larry’s trial - the man who has been accused of journalist Miroslava Breach’s murder. Miroslava was killed on March 27, 2017 in Chihuahua. 

On February 24, the Governor intentionally disregarded Lucy’s questions about the results of municipalities where the government was in charge of security. He dodged another question about the situation of security in the Chihuahua. It is reported that more than 7,500 homicides have been witnessed under the Corral administration and the rate of impunity is also said to be high. The state is also second in terms of public debt and when questioned about the state of affairs in this regard, the administration declined to respond.

Lucy has called Jurado’s behaviour a violation of her rights as a journalist and citizen. She has approached Néstor Armendáriz, the President of State Human Rights Commission (ECHR) to take notice of Jurado’s behaviour.

When talking about the behaviour she was subjected to Lucy said, “It has generated a totally hostile environment against me and I feel vulnerable. In this case, the governor is the main guarantor of my rights as a citizen and as a journalist, he is committing an abuse of power against me.”

We reached out to Lucy to better understand her situation and whether she has faced intimidation in retaliation to her complaint.

“I am in the process of ratifying the complaints filed before the Public Ministry against Governor Javier Corral and the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, CONAPRED. At the moment things are calm and I hope this does not level up,” Lucy said to the CFWIJ.

She expressed her concerns about covering future press conferences and said that she hopes that the behaviour is not repeated every Monday because it is “terribly draining” for her. Lucy also said that two public servants did not respond to her respective requests for information that she has made since last week.

“This development in Mexico is of great concern. We are seeing that targeting of free speech, for journalists and activists both is consistent in the country. We are increasingly concerned about the cases of intimidation and interruption to journalistic work in Mexico,” said Kiran Nazish, the Founding Director of CFWIJ.

ECHR’s Armendáriz has said that Jurado is in the wrong. He said that “We received the complaint at the Ciudad Juarez office for what she considers a violation of access to information. We must start from the basis that freedom of expression goes hand in hand with some other rights.”

The president of ECHR also said that “the right to freedom of expression cannot be freely exercised if the right to receive information is not enforced.” He added that the possibility of a trial is not confirmed. However, an objective investigation has been initiated following Lucy’s complaint and that the future of the complaint depends on the investigation’s outcome.

According to our source in Mexico, the governor has had problems with El Diario de Juárez, which is apparently why he is taking a negative stance against its journalists. During the press conference, he also referred to El Dario reporters as “not trustworthy”.

The source further added that the authorities sent two military vehicles with municipal and state agents who tried to enter the newspaper, but they were not allowed to enter without a search warrant. They stated parcel reviews as the reason to enter the newspaper’s building.

It was concerning that the authorities tried to barge into El Dario. We asked Lucy if she felt intimidated because of that. ”This happened on Saturday. However, I didn't go to the newspaper that day because my car broke down... I don't know if this was in retaliation to the complaint that was filed the day before,” she said to the CFWIJ. Lucy further told us that she worked at home that day but her car was in El Dario’s parking lot.

It is the responsibility of the ECHR to ensure a thorough investigation in this case, so Lucy and other journalists like her can exercise their right to information without feeling threatened and mistreated. In Mexico, women journalists are already facing immense sexism, harassment, threats and abuse for their work. The Governor’s response has only added to the existing discrimination against them. What Lucy did was part of her job as a journalist and the treatment she was subjected to was uncalled for, to say the least.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism urges the ECHR to conduct a fair inquiry to address Lucy’s concerns. We demand Governor Jurado to be more responsive when speaking with the press without being discriminatory towards women journalists. Officials in the government should not be privy to matters concerning the public and their safety. Jurado must do everything to ensure that the questions - both easy and difficult - posed by journalists are answered with sincerity and loyalty as part of their service to the nation.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org