Amnistia International

Annual Amnesty International Report criticizes Mexico for abysmal human rights  and attacks on women and journalists

Cover of the Amnesty International Report 2020/21

Patrick O’Heffernan,  Ajijic. Amnesty International released its annual Report on The State of Human Rights this week and singled out Mexico for its high level of abuses of women and journalists.

One of its conclusions is that, regionally,  COVID-19 confinement measures have led to a serious increase in violence against women, including domestic violence, rape, homicide and femicide and even in one Mexican case, a husband killing and skinning his 21-year old wife. 

México was found to be one of the worst countries for feminicide,  with 3,752 killings of women reported in 2020. Mexico’s law enforcement record was equally bad with only 969 of the killings  investigated as femicides and police involved in several murders of women.  México State registered the highest absolute number of femicides, followed by Veracruz. Colima and Morelos. Based on all available reports of violence against women, AI  found that in 2020 Mexico exceeded the 197,693 violence cases reported in 2019.

AI noted that the President has downplayed the problem of violence against women and has stigmatized human rights defenders and media covering them. It also reported that Jalisco police were involved in the arbitrary detainment of 27 people in Guadalajara during a demonstration sparked by the death of Giovanni López Ramírez. Protesters were abducted in unmarked vehicles.  The Jalisco State Governor later announced that the police involved would be subject to criminal investigations, AI noted.

Journalists are equally in danger in  México, with at least 19 journalists killed in 2020. A letter signed by 650 journalists and intellectuals accused the President of actions harmful to the right to freedom of expression because of the violence against journalists and the administration’s antipathy toward the media. AI also reported on evidence that the México state news agency was involved in a social media smear campaign, allegedly financed with public funds, against several journalists.  

AI also detailed the danger facing human rights advocates in México and other Latin American countries, especially those protecting the environment and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. AI reported that 24 human rights defenders were killed in México last year, almost all by private parties.  Human rights defenders who criticized the Maya Train for its abuse of the rights of indigenous peoples along the right of way were attacked by the President, despite strong support from the UN. Other actions were mixed, with the government  ratifying the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists but dissolving the trust fund for defenders of human rights.

The full report,   Amnesty International Report 2020/21 covers 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. is  available  for free download as a PDF on the AI website, www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/mexico/report-mexico/