When I was young, I always wanted to be a journalist, specializing in culture. I started at a local newspaper in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, where I was born, and reported on local issues such as potholes, stories about neighbors or water leaks, but one story in particular was the one that changed my career path: Mexican authorities stole the car of a man named Emilio while crossing the U.S. border. As I realized about the consequences of prosecuting officials for theft, I noticed the importance of telling stories of injustice and giving a voice to those who do not have one, like Mr. Emilio. Therefore, I believe that journalists as human rights defenders have a great responsibility in the sense that we are the ones who tell the stories of people who would not be otherwise heard by the authorities or society itself. We expose injustices that would not be otherwise known. We are the bridge between society and the authorities that commit abuse of power or negligence. Our role is to tell stories. Documenting and publishing them is defending human rights of the citizens that suffer from human rights violations.

I have been the victim of death threats, intimidation, messages via third parties not to publish certain topics, and closure of our sites when I publish issues of corruption in the Mexican presidency. These situations have forced me to live with bodyguards, radically changing my personal life, but also my work life, because it is more difficult to do journalism when you have armed men around you to protect you from attempts against your life. Faced with this complex situation, it is necessary to look for other creative ways to continue doing journalism and access information.

Personally, I am passionate about my profession, but I believe that what moves us most as journalists in Mexico is to uncover the stories that otherwise would remain unknown. There are stories that should be published, and that is a conviction that comes from journalism as a way of life, to find the truth; and a mission that I consider as my contribution to the society. Reporting on corruption or drug trafficking in Mexico may sound dangerous, but it is necessary to research about it even with the risks involved. Investigative journalism is what I know how to do, what I like to do, and it is what I feel I can contribute so that we can live in a democracy. 

I think that journalism in Mexico suffers four attacks: First, an economic crisis of the media and journalistic industry. Secondly, the denigrations from the executive power, specifically from the president. Thirdly, the lack of safeguards and guarantees to exercise the journalistic profession in a context of violence where impunity against the murder of journalists is enormous and we have no guarantee of our right to life. Finally, a disunited academia where universities are not training journalists, they are not raising funds or seeking solutions to this crisis with the support of the private sector. If we could solve these four problems, there would be a great future for journalism in the country because there is a generation of young people excited about doing journalism. In Mexico, we have the right to access to information with mechanisms and institutions that guarantee transparent information for investigative work, and the new generations of young journalists have clear methodologies to do investigative journalism. Likewise, the search for gender equality in the industry opens a path to a new generation of confident female journalists who will reach more positions of power from where they can make changes in the profession.