Diego Luna: “There is violence against journalists and impunity because nothing is done about it” | Culture

May 15, 2017 journalist Javier Valdez was stopped by a white car while traveling in Culiacan, Mexico. According to testimony collected by Sinaloa prosecutors, two hooded men pulled him out of the car and talked to him for several minutes. In his final moments, Valdez was found kneeling, hands on hips, wearing a hat – an image that haunts the memory of one of the bravest reporters covering drug violence in the region. He was shot 12 times. This case “should have been a watershed moment” for justice, safety and protection of journalists, but it was not.

Like much of Mexican society, directed by Diego Luna experienced violence first hand. The Valdez case raised the question of how bad things have to get before the public gets involved. “It’s important that we understand that what journalists go through in our country affects us all in some way,” says Luna, an actor and documentary producer. State of silence. “It’s like that was the starting point for this project that shows us what’s behind the news that comes to us. This was one of the goals – to identify those who were involved in this; so that we at least understand a little the scale serious violence in Mexico“

Directed by Santiago Masa, produced by La Corriente del Golfo, a company owned by Luna and her fellow Mexican actor. Gael Garcia BernalThe documentary was released on Netflix on October 17.

It portrays four journalists who risked their lives to expose the pain and fear created by two decades of violence unleashed by so-called war on drugs. They are both investigators and victims. The portrayal of their working lives highlights the plight of press freedom currently under threat in the country.

Luna explains that the original idea was for a series that would highlight the many cases of violence against journalists occurring across the country. However, according to Maza, the network’s management was reluctant to do so because it was considered a “political and sensitive” topic. Luna then found a way around this problem by presenting the idea as a documentary. Maza chose four stories. “These characters help us understand the different approaches of journalists who all experience brutal violenceinsecurity and absolute loneliness,” Luna says.

Journalists Jesus Medina, Marcos Vizcarra, Juan de Dios García Tavish and Maria de Jesus Peters report on violence and its motives in different regions of Mexico. The idea was to encourage the public to tune in and realize that no matter where they are, a journalist is in danger.

Vizcarra is one of many voices that continue to demand justice for Valdez’s murder. “It’s sad that we can’t do our jobs because this violence is here and will continue to be there,” he says in the documentary. “The problem with all newsrooms is that no one teaches us how to report pain. They didn’t care about Regina (Martinez), Miroslava (Breach) or Javier Valdez. Nobody cares in Mexico.”

Name State of silence – which was nThe outrage at Tribeca in the US, the Guadalajara Film Festival and the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival in the UK – reflects the complicity of local and regional authorities in the violence unleashed by organized crime. As a result, “zones of silence” arise in which kidnappings, attacks and murders of journalists continue.

State of silence is a study of “drug politics” in Mexico – looking at corruption and state involvement in the deaths and disappearances of journalists during certain periods, such as Felipe Calderon’s six-year sentence when the war against drug cartels began. ; That Culiacanaso in 2019 – battle between the Sinaloa cartels and the Mexican army after the capture Ovidio Guzmanson of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman; That disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa in 2014 and constant tensions between the government and journalists during the recent presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Both Maza and Luna hope the dynamic will change with The new government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. “The documentary accurately portrays the violence we have been experiencing for decades,” Luna says. “This is violence that has increased and become more complex for various reasons. I think this documentary is a snapshot of what the country is going through; level of impunity in cases of violence against journalists…. These things happen because nothing is done.”

Luna emphasizes that this is not a coincidence State of silence The premiere will take place in the year of elections and government changes in Mexico. Luna believes the relationship between the state and the press may change, but this involves the participation of the public, private initiatives and media executives to ensure access to free information and “guarantee democracy”.

“It’s a documentary that Marcos Vizcarra said would be great if it didn’t exist, if we didn’t have to make it,” says Maza. “In the six years that have passed since our activity, we have never moved away from the situation. While we were filming, the violence continued and continues today. We believe this project is necessary to stimulate thinking about a systemic problem so that we don’t have to create another one.”

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