The actors and directors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna They team up once again. This time they join forces as producers of crude oil documentary film that portrays the complicated work of journalism Mexican.
Presented in the Tribeca Film Festival In New York, silent state is the feature film that, under the direction of Santiago Maza, tells the story of four journalists who narrate the dangers of practicing their profession in Mexico when responding to their call for truth and veracity.
In this way, the obstacles and risks of practicing journalism are presented, embodied in the cases of Marcos Vizcarra (Sinaloa), Jesús Medina (Morelos) and the couple formed by Juan de Dios García Davish and María de Jesús Peters Pino (Chiapas) in their daily work in a country that violates and violates freedom of the press.
During the presentation of the film, María de Jesús Peters, protagonist and correspondent of The universal commented that the title arises because “There are certain topics that are not addressed or do not want to be touchedand in the end people don’t find out”. While Vizcarra argued that “This documentary should not exist, but we are grateful because we need to open the conversation about violence that we journalists in Mexico experience every day.”
For your part, Diego Luna showed his interest in making visible this problem faced by correspondents in his native country. “Practicing journalism in Mexico is very complexand if citizens are not attentive, are not aware, and are not present in the daily lives of journalists, it sounds very unfair”expressed the artist.
In this sense, the protagonist of RogueOne emphasized that this is “a wake-up call to citizens, we have to recognize them, support them, be close, worry about what the community of journalists in our country is experiencing today”.
In the case of García Bernal, the actor did not rule out that silent state It can be a way to raise awareness in different sectors of society, and not just those affected. Although this project may encourage new generations of journalists to carry out their work with greater security, Bernal’s intention has a different axis.
“It is also to highlight the fact that Without journalism there is no democracy, there is no way to scrutinize the truth “if journalism does not exist, if there are no voices that denounce, that criticize, that qualify the things that are happening”he stated.
Mexico has become one of the most dangerous in the world to practice journalism, with alarming figures that reflect the constant violence that information professionals face. According to the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), from the year 2000 to 2023, more than 150 journalists have been murdered in the country. In 2022 alone, 19 murders of journalists were recorded, placing our country as the most lethal for the press.
One of the most recent cases was the murder of Lourdes Maldonado in Tijuana, which occurred in January 2022. Maldonado had requested federal protection due to threats received and publicly mentioned her fear for her life, without the authorities providing adequate protection. This case shows the urgent need for effective protection mechanisms and the implementation of public policies that guarantee the safety of Mexican journalists.
In addition to murders, intimidation, threats and physical and digital attacks are part of daily life for many reporters. According to data from the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), between January 2020 and June 2023, more than 600 attacks against journalists, including from threats and harassment until disappearances forced.
The states with the highest rates of violence against the press are Veracruz, Guerrero, Tamaulipas and Michoacán, regions where drug trafficking and organized crime have a strong presence.
Faced with this situation, various human rights organizations and journalists have demanded the government intervention and the creation of solid mechanisms that provide security to those who practice social communication.
