By Diego Cruz
The Mexican government's Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists reported having benefited 210 individuals and three non-profit organizations since its creation in November 2012.
According to government officials, 60 percent of the reported threats came from state and municipal authorities and 40 percent from organized crime. Even though some of the beneficiaries of the mechanism were relocated to other homes, including some abroad, most of them were reported to have received bodyguards, satellite phones, home surveillance and preventive measures, newspaper Milenio reported.
Only 23 journalists were considered to be at high risk; seven of them were relocated to Mexico City or the United States. Those seven came from states like Veracruz, Tamaulipas Durango and Guerrero.
An unknown number of journalists have expressed distrust for the protection mechanism and have gone to NGOs instead to help them relocate to Europe or the United States. Among them was journalist Verónica Basurto Gamero, who in March last year quit her job and left the country after two months of threats against her and her family that made her question the effectiveness of the mechanism. Basurto told Reporters Without Borders that the mechanism was characterized by a "late reaction from authorities, slow bureaucracy and procedures that were too lax."
The mechanism was created after years of pressure from national and international organizations that called for structured protections for journalists in high-risk situations.
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.
