"The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned and expressed concern over today’s ruling against the newspaper Vanguardia of Saltillo. The organization warned that the decision sets a regressive legal precedent for press freedom in Mexico.
The Eighth Circuit Collegiate Civil Court of Coahuila rejected the injunction (amparo) filed by Grupo Vanguardia against the December 9, 2024 ruling of the Civil and Family Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ), which had dismissed the newspaper’s appeal in a lawsuit over an alleged commercial debt. According to Vanguardia, the case was processed with unusual speed and insufficient legal criteria, validating an “inferred” debt without a proper enforceable title that met legal requirements.
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Consulted attorneys described as “extraordinary” the fact that an appeal spanning thousands of pages was resolved in just 72 hours, when similar cases typically take between one month and 45 days. Although the exact effects are not yet clear, the outlet was ordered to pay compensation, with the amount still undetermined. According to Vanguardia, this was a final-instance decision.
The company maintains that the lawsuit is the result of a systematic campaign of legal harassment and personal persecution initiated in 2016 by former governor Humberto Moreira Valdés, after the paper’s coverage of his arrest in Spain on alleged financial crimes. This past April, the IAPA had already warned about judicial pressure against Vanguardia, calling it a form of retaliation for its journalistic work."
