The state governor stated that the agreement is looking to improve both mechanisms in order to guarantee the integrity and security of those who defend human rights or work as journalists in Baja California.

She added that the most relevant part about this mechanism is that it goes from being reactive to being preventive, since people have deviously lost their lives defending society and its interests.

“This shows the importance that the federal government has for journalists and human rights defenders’ work. The three branches of the state of Baja California, as well as each of the municipal presidents of the state, give this issue the same importance,” she stated.

Marina del Pilar pointed out that the federal government supported the state immediately following the murders of Margarito Martínez and Lourdes Maldonado, due to the will and commitment of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which have managed to deliver the first results of the investigations.

The previously mentioned coordination doesn’t only involve the three branches of governments, but will also have the support of several security corporations, so that the guidelines carried out are efficient. Their goal is to improve their capacity to protect human rights advocacy and journalism.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Encinas asserted that the agreement sends a profound message, mainly because of the involvement of institutions of justice and journalists themselves. This shows that there is a will in the Mexican government to reverse the violent situation that journalists and human rights advocates live in the country.

“We have to search for joint actions with state prosecutors and with states’ judicial branches. We have to seriously deal with prevention measures for these types of crimes, since we are fighting against the corruption and impunity that still remains regarding journalists and human rights defenders,” he stated.

For his part, the government’s General Secretary, Catalino Zavala Márquez, thanked Encinas’ presence and emphasized that these groups’ protection requires a greater will and coordination between all parties involved, both from the state and the federal government, as well as all municipalities.

The officer pointed out that this Friday, February 25 the details of this agreement will be revealed in the Protection Mechanisms for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists of Baja California meeting.

Subsecretary of Human Rights, Melba Adriana Olvera Rodríguez; Nacional Mechanism Coordinator, Enrique Irazoque Palazuelos, as well as other members of the state and national mechanism, all attended the event.

*MARINA DEL PILAR HEADS FLAG DAY COMMEMORATION*

On the other hand, Baja Californian Governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, led the Flag Day commemoration in Tijuana’s Morelos Headquarters, venue of the Second Military Zone, together with leaders of the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) and the Navy Secretariat (SEMAR).

In her message, the governor highlighted that the national flag is a symbol that unites all Mexicans in the warmth we feel for it and reaffirmed that the flag has always been present in all government facilities, schools, and even in Mexican representations around the world like embassies or consulates.

“Mexico is a multicultural and diverse nation. We have prehispanic vestiges, novohispanic cathedrals, and natural paradises. We are among the first countries designated with World Heritage Sites, Memory of the World, and Intangible Cultural Heritage”, she said.

Marina del Pilar pointed out that Mexican artistic and cultural expressions have reached the world with their richness which is covered and protected by the Flag of Mexico. This is the symbol “that made Mexicans become soldiers in order to defend the nation, in order to defend the flag.”

“I celebrate the national flag because it is a symbol of Independent Mexico, which is ever fairer and more prosperous, that we Mexicans have been building for over 200 years. Long live the flag of Mexico! That it waves for centuries to come! Telling the world that we are an independent nation proud of its past, always looking to the future,”, Governor Marina del Pilar stated.

Baja California’s Secretary of Education, Gerardo Arturo Solís Benavides, also attended the commemoration and said that the flag “reminds us where we are from and where we are going”, always with ideals of justice, honor, and democracy.

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