121.3
The Weakening of Civil Society and Strengthening of the De Powers in the Reform of Telecommunications Legislation in Mexico 2013-2015
Abstract
Because the campaign of Enrique Pena Nieto had constant accusations of irregularities and an unprecedented support of the company Televisa, when he reached the Presidency of the Republic he summoned a pact with the left and right parties, trying to calm the social pressure. Through this union the government legitimized several major reforms, one of these was the telecommunications and broadcasting reform. But the pact as a mere political instrument, prevented criticism and proposals from civil society from getting to the legislature.
Both the legislative discussion of the constitutional reform of 2013 in the field of telecommunications, as well as the new Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law in 2014, had higher receipt of proposals from the National Chamber of the Industry of Radio and Television, while attention to civil society groups was lower, the citizen initiatives for reform were not even taken into account.
The above process culminated with the approval of the new law, which only benefits the large telecommunications, radio and television corporations, disregarding the right of citizens not only to have access to accurate, objective and timely information but also to handle their own broadcasting and telecommunications systems, thus violating Article 6 of the Constitution. Also, public policy in this area seems to close all public spaces, thus undermining the possibility of a real democracy.
This proposed paper aims to describe and analyze this process by the historical-structural method.