Mar 1, 2022
From severe water sanitation problems to a growing number of femicides across the country, here are four of Mexico's biggest challenges that you might not be hearing about.
Major news outlets report on drug wars in Mexico. Headlines emphasize politicized debates in the United States over the US/Mexico border policy, and restrictive immigration policies.
But these outlets haven’t addressed Mexico’s other biggest challenges. From severe water sanitation problems to a growing number of femicides across the country, here are four of those issues that you might not be hearing about.
Aid organizations prepare for a new border climate following the lifting of Title 42
The Biden administration announced its decision to end the Trump-era Title 42 policy, which has allowed the U.S. government to use the COVID-19 public health emergency to bar asylum seekers from entering the country until their court case is heard, instead waiting out their immigration cases in Mexico.
In March, the administration ended the use of Title 42 for unaccompanied minors and planned to lift the policy for all asylum seekers by May 23. However, in a CSPAN interview from last week, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council said that May 23 is no longer the operative date, due to a Louisiana court which has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from doing so.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimate that over 165,000 migrants are waiting on the Mexican side of the southern border to cross into the U.S. once Title 42 ends. This estimate does not include thousands of migrants who will cross illegally. To support the Border Patrol, which has already recorded more than 900,000 encounters this year — a 99 percent increase from the same time last year — the Biden administration has created a plan that largely focuses on processing resources. The plan outlines how it will rely heavily on NGOs.
In a US-Mexico Border Alliance call on April 26th, NGOs from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California discussed how they were preparing to meet the growing demands. Since the Trump administration implemented MPP in July of 2019, organizations like Catholic Charities, Loaves and Fishes, Angry Tias and Abuelas, and Global Response Management, have been focused on providing essentials like tents, clothes, health care, and food. In the coming months, their focus will shift to helping migrants prepare their applications and secure travel plans.
Journalist killings are on the rise, while President undermines their work
Last week, three journalists were killed, bringing the number of journalists killed in Mexico to 12 this year. The Veracruz state’s attorney general office tweeted that it had opened an investigation, but no updates have been provided. After journalist Juan Carlos Muñiz was killed in March, the Zacatecas state prosecutor’s office issued a facebook statement saying they had opened an investigation, but to date, no updates have been provided.
Last year, Mexico became the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, aside from countries in active war. Despite the danger journalists experience in Mexico, President López Obrador continues to undermine and attack their work. Since assuming power in December 2018, attacks on the press have surged 85%, according to Article 19. In March, after seven journalists had been killed in less than three months, European Union lawmakers passed a resolution urging the President to change his rhetoric when addressing the press. The President responded to the resolution, saying, “It’s unfortunate that like sheep you join the reactionary and coup-like strategy of the corrupt group that opposes [the administration].”
Jacky Muniello, a Mexican photojournalist who has been covering government protests and human rights atrocities around the country for over 15 years, says that democracy doesn’t exist in Mexico. “There is no freedom of the press, not in Mexico,” she said. “And it’s just getting worse. I’m not seeing a lot of hope. But I will keep working,” she said.
As government disregards water laws, millions are left without clean water
The Aurelio Benassini dam in Elota, Mexico. June 30, 2021. Reuters Photo / Jesus BustamanteIn February, over 16 environmental rights organizations joined The National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI, an autonomous government agency responsible for the country’s economic census, to launch Campaña SerAgua. The campaign aims to address the contamination of basins and water bodies in Mexico that have contributed to the 7.8 million households across the country who currently do not have access to safe drinking water, according to INEGI’s 2022 report.
Just last month, environmental activist groups from Campaña SerAgua filed a lawsuit, demanding the halting of one of the President’s flagship energy projects, the Maya Train, citing the government’s failure to issue an environment assessment before approving the construction of the train’s “most damaging” section. In response to the temporary suspension of the train’s construction, the President issued a statement, saying that the train would be completed by the end of 2023, despite the protests. The President cited his 2021 executive order that classified the train as a matter of national security, allowing its construction in the first place, saying in his press conference last week, “The agreement is validated by the judicial authority, by the Supreme Court, it is legal.”
For activists, protesting the administration comes with great risk, as violence against environmental activists in Mexico is the worst it has ever been. 25 environmental activist were murdered in 2021, seven more than the year before. And in an analysis by Front Line Defenders and the Human Rights Defenders Memorial, of the 358 murders of human rights activists globally in 2021, 60% were land, environment or Indigenous rights defenders. The countries with the highest death tolls were Colombia and Mexico.
“¡Ni un asesinato más!”: Mexican Women call for an end to femicides on International Women’s Day
Demonstrators attack a police barricade that surrounds the National Palace during a march to commemorate International Women’s Day. March 8, 2022. AP Photo/Jacky MunielloOn International Women’s Day, March 8, thousands of women took to the streets of Mexico City wearing purple and protesting for women’s rights and equality. Women held signs that read “¡ni un asesinato más!,” protesting femicides, which are at an all time high in Mexico.
Last year, there were 1,006 registered femicides, or killing of women and girls on account of gender, in Mexico, an increase of 2.7% from the previous year, according to government data. President López Obrador, who deployed both the national guard and a large military contingent during the march, said that the march was “infiltrated by right wing conservatives” who were seeking to attack the city by “taking advantage of the holiday.”
The administration’s response to femicides, coupled with its response to the dangers facing journalists and environmental activists, is part of an ongoing crackdown on civil society that leaves many doubting the state of democracy in Mexico, according to Amnesty International.