Mexican media personality Carmen Aristegui, the award-winning host of one of the highest-rated radio programs in the county, was fired by MVS Radio after discussing allegations that President Felipe Calderón is an alcoholic, EFE reports.
According to Univision, the journalist had discussed a placard held by a group of opposition lawmakers that said “Would you let a drunk drive your car? No. Right? So why do you let him drive the county?” On the air she said, quoted by EFE: “Does Felipe Calderon have problems with alcoholism or not? This deserves, I insist, a serious, formal and official response from the presidency of the republic.”
MVS said she was fired for violating the code of ethics by “presenting and spreading rumors as news” and then refusing to offer a “public apology,” Milenio explains. Aristegui will keep her weekly interview program on CNN.
Global Voices Online reports that social media reacted harshly to her firing, especially on Twitter and Facebook, where many accused the station and the government of engaging in censorship.
Aristegui told Proceso that she was fired by W Radio three years ago after pressure from the Calderón government.
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Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
