Politics: Failed attempt to murder Ciro Gómez Leyva, one of the most influential journalists, aggravates the conflict between AMLO and critical media
The rising toll of journalists killed over the course of the past year has landed Mexico atop the "Reporters without Borders" annual list of the deadliest country for reporters, with three more such slayings this year than in war-torn Ukraine. And while 11 journalists were killed here in 2022 and scores of others subjected to a variety of attacks and threats, the December 15 attempt to murder national news anchor Ciro Gómez Leyva in Mexico City marked the first time there has been an attempt on the life of such a prominent journalist since 1984.
The country’s press corps was quick to note that a fundamental shift had occurred. Gómez Leyva is a household name, long hosting some of the country’s most watched and listened to TV and radio news programs, and yet his car was shot up on a tree-lined street in a wealthy neighborhood in Mexico City, where killings of journalists are by far rarer than in more remote locations. Prominence, once considered a shield against violence, may no longer offer much protection.
Much of the resulting outrage over the attack has been directed at President López Obrador, whose combative attitude toward much of the media even before taking office in 2018 has grown increasingly intense. And his contradictory responses to the attempt on Gómez Leyva’s life suggest to many that it is becoming unhinged.
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