Bearing in mind that Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, with 150 of them murdered since the year 2000, the aim of this programme is to offer them time out, provide them with support and help them get on their feet, and at the same time, give international visibility to their cause and strengthen the collective role of threatened journalists. The programme began with a pilot scheme in 2027 and got up and running properly in 2018 with the arrival of the first four journalists, two from the state of Guerrero, one from Coahuila and another from Culiacán, in the state of Sinaloa. The programme currently offers comprehensive support for six journalists, which includes accommodation, upkeep, psycho-social and medical support and a training and incident agenda. The subsidy from Barcelona City Council in 2025 for the programme “Barcelona protects Mexican journalists” is 130,000 euros, to contribute to their overheads.

“Barcelona protects Mexican journalists” is part of the Barcelona’s reception programme for human rights defenders, positioning the city as committed to human rights and also including the shelter programme for writers managed by PEN Català. This programme offers a two-year stay for writers who are threatened, persecuted or faced with prison as a result of their writings. The first writer to be invited to stay in Barcelona was the Amazigh author Salem Zenia (Algeria, 2007-2009). The programme is shortly to welcome a woman writer from Afghanistan.

Together with the Taula per Mèxic, the City Council has also published the book Seguir contándolo, with the accounts of some of the 32 threatened professionals to have been take in by the programme. The book is written by Majo Siscar and Sandra Vicente, with the prologue by Cristina Rivera and illustrations by Pedro Strukelj. The book will be presented in a session at the Biblioteca García Márquez on 30 October.