Juan Luis Garcia
Juan Luis Garcia
Mexico | Reporter, SinEmbargo
Patrick and Janna Stueve Foundation Fellow | Host: Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, and Texas Tribune
Working in the most unsafe country to do journalism in North America, Juan Luis Garcia’s coverage has focused on crime and security — including the spread of the drug cartels, local government agencies linked to crime organizations and federal government corruption.
As a reporter in Mexico City with SinEmbargo, an online news outlet considered a standout in Mexico’s new generation of digital media startups, Garcia has distinguished himself by seeking explanations for the causes of violence beyond the single criminal acts.
“I am interested in being able to explain complex issues without losing an understandable message for our readers,” Garcia wrote. “There is no more proficient way to improve that than working side by side with colleagues.”
Garcia also writes about the intersections of politics and business.
Garcia’s editor-in-chief, Antonio Hernandez, points out the danger of that intersection: “It is well documented that some of the local and federal politicians are being financially supported by drug trafficking.”
At the online news site ContraPoder, he covered companies, markets and entrepreneurship. At SinEmbargo, he’s also written an in-depth article on fracking in Mexico, with data, and the lobbying of members of Mexico’s Congress by big soda companies to stop tax measures.
As Garcia’s former supervisor, Octavio Lopez, put it, “It is always atypical to defy power in the America’s most dangerous country for journalism.” Garcia, he wrote, is emotionally mature and disciplined and “willing to do what is necessary to become a better journalist (including learning database management)… He already likes to share with his teammates, thus I bet his new knowledge once he comes back will be useful for Sin Embargo and hopefully for Mexico.”
Garcia, the Patrick and Janna Stueve Foundation Fellow, will work during the first half of the fellowship at the Miami Herald and its Spanish language newspaper, El Nuevo Herald, and at the Texas Tribune, an innovative digital outlet, during the second half.