In Mexico's Campeche, a journalist fights lawsuits as legal pressure on press mounts

From a small television studio in Campeche, journalist Jorge González continues to broadcast his weekly political commentary program even as he defends himself against multiple lawsuits brought by state officials.

González formerly led Tribuna, a daily newspaper that had served the southeastern state for five decades and was long associated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which governed Campeche for nearly a century. That relationship shifted after Layda Sansores of the ruling Morena party became governor in 2021.

Sansores withdrew government advertising that the paper depended on and launched a television program that mocked journalists, including by presenting "Golden Pinocchio" awards to those she deemed the biggest liars. Tribuna responded with columns sharply critical of the governor, some of which contained gender-specific and homophobic attacks.

Starved of revenue, the newspaper ended its print edition in 2024 but continued publishing online. Sansores filed civil and criminal complaints against González alleging moral damage, gender-based political violence and hate speech. In one criminal case, judges barred him from practicing journalism for two years and ordered a judicial censor to review Tribuna articles before publication. González appealed, and a judge temporarily suspended those measures while the case proceeds.

Sansores has denied persecuting or censoring the press, saying her lawsuits were intended to protect women. Women's rights activist Milagros Higueredo said the governor had faced misogynistic and violent attacks from the press but had also perpetrated violence against women herself.

Jan-Albert Hootsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists said the quality of journalism never justifies state power overreach or censorship aimed at shutting down critical and independent media.

The dispute in Campeche reflects a broader trend in Mexico, where politicians and judges are increasingly turning to legal action against journalists and media outlets. Press freedom group Article 19 documented 69 new lawsuits against journalists or news organizations in 2025 — roughly one every six days and three times the number recorded a year earlier.

The legal pressure has grown alongside deadly violence, with seven journalists killed in Mexico this year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Press watchdogs are also concerned about a new federal regulation protecting "audiences' rights," which President Claudia Sheinbaum said would allow the public to challenge media content without leading to censorship.

In Campeche, Tribuna's former newsroom now sits largely empty, but González's weekly program and the legal battles surrounding his work continue.