State of Silence (2024) Directed by Santiago Maza
7A (documentary)
Mexican superstars and best friends Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna do a public service, even possibly a dangerous one, by sponsoring this documentary that reveals the insane level of violence against journalists who try to report on Mexican corruption. Since the turn of the century there have been 163 journalists who have been murdered with over 30 more still missing. While I guessed that most of the violence came from drug cartels, this apparently is not the case. Despite having a sub-ministry whose purpose is supposedly to protect journalists from violence, the Mexican government is directly and deeply involved in shielding from corruption charges or worse elected officials, government-initiated projects and narco interests that routinely seriously threaten the rights of its citizens. Any form of protest is met with a brutality that is made worse by the fact that it has become so common that it doesn't even seem out of the ordinary anymore. Many of the journalist who report on these events have been forced to go into hiding or to move to other countries for their own safety and that of their families. Way too many have lost their lives.
State of Silence was a real eye-opener for me. It's not just that the interviews with journalists are chilling. I have come to casually accept that corruption must be high in Mexico, but it's not the sort of thing a Canadian worries about much. I had no idea, however, of the level of violence (over 42,000 homicides in 2023 alone) or how deeply embedded such carnage is in the workings of Mexican corporations and government. I had no idea of the perpetrators' immunity nor the extent of human rights violations that occur. The protected power brokers feel no inhibitions about crushing the weak if they get in the way or become too vocal. On exposing these conditions,
State of Silence deserves high praise. Though they certainly contribute greatly to the strong-arm tactics, if the drug cartels disappeared tomorrow, journalists would still be risking their lives and the lives of their families by reporting on the corruption and lawlessness that remains.
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