Bribery in Mexican Journalism Out in Open

A Mexican journalist’s speech in front of the president has blown the lid off one of the country’s biggest open secrets: that much of the press corps takes bribes from the government for rosy news coverage.

The revelation has emboldened a few Mexican journalists to talk about how government officials dole out to certain reporters envelopes of cash, all-expense-paid vacations or nights of drinking and visits to prostitutes, according to journalists who declined to be identified.

Political analyst and columnist Luis Rubio blew the whistle on the practice Friday when he received a journalism award from Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.

“In every country this [bribery] exists to some degree, but probably not at such public and absurd levels as in Mexico,” Rubio said.

“It’s one of those rare topics that are not public but totally out in the open at the same time,” he said. “So I thought it was my obligation to say it in public.”

While there has been some scattered public discussion of the practice in the past, it has not previously received the attention that Rubio’s speech has generated.

Government officials deny giving bribes, and some journalists believe Zedillo himself is unaware of the extent of the problem.

“We don’t have a practice of paying journalists nor any kind of bribery, absolutely not,” a presidential aide said.

But many poorly paid reporters who benefit from the largess privately acknowledge it to colleagues. According to one reporter’s estimate, about one-third of the journalists covering the president accept bribes, down from around half in previous presidential administrations.

Sometimes government officials make discreet bank deposits into the accounts of favored journalists, editors and columnists, reporters said.

Reporters in the presidential press corps receive the most generous bribes, up to $5,700 a month apiece, according to one reporter. Many journalists on that beat make salaries of about $500 a month but own cars and homes far beyond their apparent means.