Last week, 1,271 people – “journalists, writers, creative artists, and free expression advocates” from around the world – signed a letter demanding that Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto investigate the deaths of the country’s journalists. The letter, which was published on Pen.org and includes the signatures of the Three Amigos, explains that photojournalist Rubén Espinosa was the latest casualty in a string of deaths dating back to 2000. “In your country, the statistics are disastrous regarding impunity in crimes against the press: according to the Human Rights Commission, 89 percent of the murders remain unsolved,” the letter reads. “The Commission has said that its own investigations are frequently obstructed by national authorities. Judicial negligence guarantees impunity.”
The letter echoes the same anger expressed by the people of Mexico, who used the hashtag #JusticiaParaRubén when news broke of the man’s death. The letter demands immediate action regarding Espinosa’s death and a plan to protect journalists in the future. The Mexican government responded to the letter with a statement saying that EPN does understand the criticism and that he’s committed to protecting freedom of expression, according to Terra. He also appointed Roberto Campa Cifrián to take on the case, PanAm Post reports.
Of course, no one can expect EPN to have resolved the issue in the few days since the letter, but they can expect something more than a canned response filled with government jargon. This is especially true when he does apparently have time to disprove he’s a doofus who can’t put his socks on correctly. Fusion reports that journalist Julio Astillero’s doubts about whether or not EPN was wearing his socks backward during a 10K race sparked a Twitter debate, aptly titled #calcetegate.
EPN wouldn’t let people think he was a dummy who couldn’t dress himself, and he responded with an image of the socks. Yet, he doesn’t seem too concerned about whether or not people think he’s inept at his job.