President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that attacks on famous journalists can be used to “destabilize” his government and did not rule out that the attack against journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva was a “self-attack.”
“When they raise the issue of Ciro, who could have been self-attacked, not because he fabricated it, but because someone did it to affect us, I do not rule it out,” he said.
He said that if there is evidence it will be reported, whoever it is, since there are no privileges. “They can go to the UN, go to accuse me with the king of Spain, go to Washington to ask President Biden to intervene because democracy is being affected in the country, there has never been an environment of freedoms and democracy in Mexico like now.”
The president also assured again that the attack on journalist could @CiroGomezL be an attempt to “affect” his government. “I don’t rule it out… We will denounce it if we have the evidence,” he said. pic.twitter.com/16S54UEQVU
— Political Animal (@Pajaropolitico) December 20, 2022
During his morning conference, the president considered that famous journalists, such as Ciro Gómez Leyva, have fewer risks than those who are from towns.
“These higher-level journalists have fewer risks, they are more targets to destabilize because they are famous, and more if they have differences with us,” he said.
“Most of the journalists who have been killed, most are from villages and not famous, and most are killed by criminal groups in the regions,” he said.
Read: “The attack is against everyone”: journalists speak out against violence after attack on Ciro Gómez Leyva
In addition, the president was questioned about the more than 10 murders of journalists so far this year and about a report by the organization Reporters Without Borders where he warns of the murder of a journalist a month, but the president responded “we are not equal” and that now there is no impunity.
“That was in the previous government and in the Calderón government when you, with all due respect, remained silent, but that is no longer the case. There is no impunity, impunity and corruption are not allowed, it may be that he commits a crime and it takes us time to investigate and know what happened, but we always go deep and we are not equal. All these organizations were used to remaining silent when there was more repression and authoritarianism in Mexico and now for political and economic reasons they became champions of freedom.”
.@lopezobrador_ insisted on discrediting civil organizations that denounce violence against journalists. Despite all reports to the contrary, he said that these associations remained silent “when there was more repression”. pic.twitter.com/EsZDQR3ojp
— Political Animal (@Pajaropolitico) December 20, 2022
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