Mexican radio station MVS fired prominent journalist Carmen Aristegui on Sunday, after more than six years of collaboration, according to a statement published on its website.
Aristegui also hosts a nightly television talk show on CNN en Espanol. The termination of Aristegui’s employment at MVS comes after the radio station fired her colleagues Daniel Lizarraga and Irving Huerta. The same team of journalists who exposed possible conflict-of-interest real-estate deals involving Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and his wife, unleashing a scandal that the government has yet to put to rest. Aristegui told journalists Monday that her entire team was fired. “Our lawyers say that we are going to fight this. Our lawyers say that this is an outrage against freedom of expression.”
“This team of journalists is ready to fight for their freedom of expression,” she said.
On Thursday, MVS radio stated that it had fired Daniel Lizarraga and Irving Huerta for “compromising resources and brands of the company without authorization.”
Daniel Lizarraga was featured in the introduction video of MexicoLeaks, which launched last week. The online platform encourages citizens to anonymously send documents of public interest.
MexicoLeaks is formed by a group of organizations including Mexican media outlets and societal groups, to “serve as a tool to send information of public interest … through secure technology which will guarantee the anonymity of the source,” according to its website. The objective is to “build justice and democracy in society.” The information received through MexicoLeaks will be verified, analyzed and published by the collaborating organizations. Aristegui’s team of journalists is listed on the website as one of the participating groups.
MexicoLeaks tweeted over the weekend, “Freedom of expression is a right. We are looking for information that proves crimes, human rights violations, corruption.”
The launch of MexicoLeaks comes months after massive protests against Mexican authorities regarding the disappearance of 43 students in southern Mexico last September. Authorities later arrested Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca, calling him the “probable mastermind” in the mass abduction.