Benjamín Flores González

IN A WATERSHED YEAR FOR MEXICAN DEMOCRACY, the dissolution of ties between much of the media and the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) helped foster a more professional and competitive press in 2000.

The election of National Action Party (PAN) candidate Vicente Fox to the presidency on July 2 ended the PRI's 71-year hold on power, a period during which most media unabashedly supported the regime. In an encouraging sign, the new government quickly pledged that it would promote transparency of information and respect freedom of expression and of the press. In addition, the Fox administration promised that the Center for Information and National Security, the government intelligence agency, would no longer spy on journalists. (Under the PRI, the government routinely spied on journalists while reacting with hostility to the notion that its activities should be public.)

While the Mexican press started covering local politics with greater confidence and independence, the drug trade was still an extremely dangerous assignment. As in past years, the government made little progress investigating attacks when they did occur.

1999 saw the first-ever primary election within the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which has dominated Mexican politics since its creation, in 1929. On November 7, former interior minister Francisco Labastida defeated upstart Tabasco State governor Roberto Madrazo in a highly competitive race. For the most part, the press covered the primary without incident, but there were some reports of harassment. For example, the Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social (CENCOS) reported that José Luis Hernández Salas, former editor of the daily El Independiente of Hermosillo, in Sonora State, fled to the United States after the state governor, Armando López Nogales, pressured him to cover Labastida favorably. After Hernández Salas rejected the governor's offer of an infusion of government advertising, CENCOS said, he faced systematic harassment, culminating in a September 7 police raid on his home and office.

New York, Feb. 28, 2000--Federal agents in Yuma, Arizona, have arrested two brothers charged in the 1997 murder of Mexican newspaper publisher Benjamín Flores González. According to The Arizona Daily Star, Ismael and Gabriel González Gutiérrez were arrested on drug trafficking charges on February 24, following their indictment in Phoenix on February 9. The murder charges are still pending.

Nueva York, 28 de febrero de 2000 - Agentes federales en Yuma, Arizona, arrestaron a dos hermanos acusados en el asesinato en 1997 de Benjamín Flores González, editor del periódico mexicano La Prensa. Según The Arizona Daily Star, Ismael y Gabriel González Gutiérrez fueron arrestados por acusaciones de narcotráfico el 24 de febrero, después de ser instruidos de cargos en la ciudad de Phoenix el 9 de febrero.  Las acusaciones de asesinato siguen vigentes.

June 14,1999

Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
President of Mexico
Los Pinos
Mexico City, MEXICO


Your Excellency,

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its growing concern for the safety of Jesús Barraza, editor of the weekly magazine  Pulso in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.

As we stated in the letter sent to you on May 13, 1999, Barraza was threatened after publishing stories on drug traffickers. After the letter was sent, a municipal police officer was assigned to provide security, but on June 5, Federal Judicial Police (PJF) angered by Barraza's coverage, attacked his bodyguard who subsequently withdrew and refused to provide protection. We believe that Barraza may be in grave danger and request that your office personally insure his safety.

14 de junio de 1999

Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
Presidente de México
Los Pinos
Ciudad de México, MEXICO


Su Excelencia,

El Comité para la Proteccion de Periodistas (CPJ) a través de esta carta quiere expresar su creciente preocupación por la seguridad de Jesús Barraza, editor del semanario Pulso en San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.

Como indicamos en carta enviada el 13 de mayo de 1999, Barraza fue amenazado después de publicar reportajes sobre traficantes de drogas. Desde mayo hasta el 5 de junio, policías municipales proporcionaron protección a Barraza. El 5 de junio, miembros de la Policía Judicial Federal (PJF), molestos por los reportajes de Barraza, atacaron a su guardaespalda quien desde entonces no ha proporcionado protección policial a Barraza. Creemos que la vida de Barraza está en peligro y pedimos que desde su despacho se tomen las medidas para garantizar su seguridad.

May 13, 1999

Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
President of Mexico
Los Pinos
Mexico City, MEXICO


Your Excellency,

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its deep concern for the safety of Jesús Barraza, editor of the weekly magazine Pulso in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora State.

At 9 p.m. on May 4, as Barraza was leaving the Pulso offices, a well-dressed man walked up to him, and told him that Albino Quintero Meraz, a reputed drug trafficker, was disturbed about two articles Pulso had recently published. The man asked how much money Barraza wanted for not publishing stories on Quintero anymore; if he did not accept the offer, the man said, he or another Pulso reporter would end up floating dead in one of San Luis Río Colorado's irrigation canals. When Barraza said he would never accept money from Quintero, the man warned him to be careful.

13 de mayo de 1999
Presidente de México
Los Pinos
Ciudad de México, MEXICO


Su Excelencia,

El Comité para la Protección de Periodistas le escribe esta carta para expresarle nuestra gran preocupación por la seguridad física de Jesús Barraza, director de la revista semanal Pulso en San Luis Río Colorado, estado de Sonora.

A las 9 p.m. del 4 de mayo, Barraza salía de las oficinas de Pulso cuando un hombre vestido de manera formal se le acercó y le dijo que Albino Quintero Meraz, un presunto narcotraficante, estaba molesto por dos artículos publicados recientemente en Pulso. El hombre preguntó a Barraza cuánto dinero quería a cambio que deje de publicar reportajes sobre Quintero; si no aceptaba la oferta, dijo, él u otro reportero de Pulso terminaría flotando en uno de los desag&uulm;es de San Luis Río Colorado. Cuando Barraza respondió que nunca aceptaría dinero de Quintero, el hombre le advirtió que tenga cuidado.