November 2 Is Not Forgotten

Of course, today’s date must remain in the memory of future generations of Mexicans.

But I didn’t get the headline wrong. Although today is October 2, and the memory of the Tlatelolco massacre is a historic milestone that many recall on this day, I’m jumping ahead to another commemoration that we consider important.

I’m talking about November 2, the date designated by the UN, with UNESCO leading the global campaign to end impunity for crimes against journalists.

You may already know that here at Tijuanapress.com we have been setting up an ofrenda, an altar for the dead, in honor of journalists murdered in Mexico for quite some time now, since the date coincides with the Day of the Dead, one of the most important cultural celebrations of our people.

But this year, 2026, just as we reach ten years since we set up the first ofrenda for murdered journalists at CECUT, we will not be putting one up. Not at CEART, where they have allowed us the space in recent editions, and not anywhere else.

Various complications keep us from holding the commemoration we had planned. The most significant is the passing of Leonardo Ortiz, our colleague, cameraman and producer, who by this time would already have the video listing this year’s victims of violence against the press. He would have verified where they worked, where and when they were killed, and gathered the images for the official campaign.

Setting up the ofrenda takes some money, but mostly a great deal of labor and dedication. And although more and more colleagues are supporting us, Leo’s death and other setbacks have led us to think, this time, of a different activity to mark the date. Simpler, but just as meaningful.

Once again, it has been a deadly period. UNESCO’s observatory of killed journalists counts eight homicides so far in 2026. Other organizations, such as Article 19 or the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), report one or two fewer cases. One is too many.

So even though we can’t set up the ofrenda, November 2 will not be forgotten.

In a month we will be remembering our fallen colleagues and demanding an end to impunity. It’s what Leo would have wanted, and the least we can do for our murdered colleagues.

For today, let us once again reflect on the events of October 2, 1968.

On November 2, we have a date to keep. We will soon tell you where the commemoration will be held.

This English version was translated from the Spanish original with the assistance of artificial intelligence and later reviewed by the Tijuanapress editorial team