Mexican journalists face surge in lawsuits as officials weaponize courts

In 2025 a new case against a journalist or media outlet was filed in Mexico roughly every six days, twice as many as the year before, as politicians such as Governor Layda Sansores turn to legal action to silence criticism.

A press-freedom watchdog reports that Mexico filed 69 lawsuits against journalists or media outlets in 2025, averaging one every six days and double the previous year’s tally. The surge is linked to actions by Governor Layda Sansores, who cut government advertising to the historic Campeche newspaper Tribuna, started a TV show that attacks journalists, and created the "Golden Pinocchio" awards for alleged liars. Tribuna’s longtime editor Jorge Luis González has been sued for moral damage, gender-based political violence and hate speech, prompting a court to suspend his reporting activities for two years and require a judicial censor to pre-approve online articles.

The measures were temporarily lifted on appeal, but watchdogs warn they set a dangerous precedent. The legal pressure on the press comes as Mexico experiences one of its deadliest years for journalist killings in over a decade, with seven reporters killed so far. Reporters such as Rafael León say the threat of lawsuits has forced them to work more cautiously, even after criminal charges were dropped following intervention by President Claudia Sheinbaum. International observers, including UN special rapporteur Leopoldo Maldonado, caution that vague laws used to combat disinformation can become tools for censorship across the Americas.