Mexico City – The Mexican Congress has enacted a law that allows journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources, a right for which press groups also have been campaigning – so far unsuccessfully – in nations such as the United States and Great Britain.
The move is part of a series of laws supporting press freedom that have been introduced since Mexico restored multiparty democracy in 2000.
The so-called Professional Secrecy Act, which lets journalists shield their sources in federal courts, was ratified by the Mexican Senate on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the spokesman for President Vicente Fox, Ruben Aguilar, congratulated legislators, saying the law demonstrates Mexico’s commitment to democracy and free speech.
Allowing reporters to shield their sources will not obstruct justice or threaten national security, Aguilar said.
“It is up to journalists to act responsibly and use their professional ethics so they don’t interfere with national security,” Aguilar said.
Press groups have been campaigning for similar shield laws around the world, especially in the United States, where several journalists have been jailed for contempt of court for refusing to reveal sources. The most high-profile recent case was that of former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who spent 85 days in prison last year for refusing to identify a confidential source during an investigation into the leaked identity of a CIA operative.
“The United States should follow the example of Mexico in allowing this fundamental right of the press,” said Benoit Hervieu of the Paris-based press group Reporters Without Borders.
Federal Rep. Gustavo Madero, of Fox’s National Action Party, said the law was part of a wider effort to create a strong and free press in Mexico.
In 2002, Mexico passed a transparency law, which allows all members of the public to demand to see government documents. On Tuesday, Mexico’s Lower House passed a bill that would make libel a civil rather than criminal offense.
“In the past there was censorship and control of the news media. Now journalists can even find out how much is spent on towels in the president’s bathroom,” Madero said. “We are going through a political and economic transition.” However, Hervieu said the government has not dealt effectively with the Mexican journalists’ main concern: violence.
Since 2004, at least eight Mexican journalists have been killed and another has disappeared. Most of the slain journalists reported on drug trafficking and organized crime.
In February, armed gunmen opened fire and launched a grenade at the offices of a daily newspaper in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, severely injuring a reporter.
Three weeks later, Fox named a university law professor to the new post of special prosecutor for crimes against journalists.
