Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
The idea that censorship is necessary in Mexico has become normalized within the Morena party. The ruling left has decided that it needs instruments to control the opinions expressed in the media and on social networks to govern the country as it wishes. Censorship is when the government decides what you can or cannot say publicly. If, in the opinion of the ruling party, certain opinions can “disrupt or subvert the social order,” then the authorities must take steps to silence those voices.
To this end, the government proposes creating legal instruments that would allow it to act in this manner. The proposed Telecommunications Law had, and continues to have, the purpose of controlling the opinions that are expressed and the media that publish them. The only reason the original bill was not passed was because of national and international public protests against it. But the government’s intention to control and censor is clearly stated in the bill and remains its ultimate goal.
The media furor against censorship in Mexico forced the government to reconsider not its intention to impose censorship, but the means to achieve its goal. It launched less publicized initiatives in two states of the Republic (sic), Puebla and Campeche, to gauge the socio-political environment along the same lines, but with less debate.
In Puebla, the so-called Cybersecurity Law was passed, which punishes people with up to three years in prison for insulting or offending the authorities on social media. The crime of cyberstalking or cyberbullying was included in the State of Puebla’s Criminal Code. It is up to the authorities to define these concepts when settling accusations by state authorities against individuals or organizations that have allegedly fallen into any of these categories.
In compliance with the reforms to the Criminal Code of Campeche, the state government, in the person of Governor Layda Sansores, accused the former director of the newspaper Tribuna and his legal representative of allegedly inciting hatred against the governor herself. They were charged with publishing newspaper articles that, in the opinion of the authorities, promoted messages of hatred and could be punished with years in prison. The newspaper Tribuna is a print media outlet in southeastern Mexico known for its critical stance toward traditional governments, both current and past. The same media outlet consistently maintained a critical stance when the current governor’s father, Carlos Sanosores Pérez, was also the governor of the state.
Both cases are considered trials or laboratory studies to measure social and political conformity or nonconformity with censorship laws, as well as the advisability of pursuing this legislative path in the current political environment.
The members of the new judiciary will take office with little legitimacy. Low voter turnout in the election, coupled with the scandal surrounding the use of cheat sheets, has created a perception of crisis in the government and raised doubts about the viability of Morena.
The multiple open conflicts with the United States over organized crime, narco-politics, migration, and the USMCA add to an environment that is not conducive to the advancement of projects such as the implementation of legal instruments that promote censorship. They are not in line with the intelligent strategy of a government seeking to protect its international image.
All of this will be on the table when President Sheinbaum sits down to negotiate with President Trump.
@rpascoep
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