Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced that she will send a reform initiative to Congress to prohibit the dissemination of foreign advertising in Mexico through mass media. The decision comes after the controversy over the broadcast of US government anti-immigration ads in Mexico. The spots, which have aired in recent weeks on national broadcast television during prime-time programs, show US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem warning people who migrate illegally to her country that they will be “hunted down” and deported. Sheinbaum has indicated that the US exploited a loophole in Mexican law that allowed it to contract the campaign directly with media outlets. For now, Mexican government agencies have asked radio and television licensees to stop broadcasting the campaign, which they have described as discriminatory.
Noem’s spot has been airing in Mexico for several weeks, Sheinbaum confirmed, but it became more prominent when it aired during Liga MX soccer matches. Since February, Noem has posted a video on social media announcing the launch of a “multi-million dollar national and international advertising campaign to warn illegal immigrants” to leave the US immediately, or face deportation and a ban on re-entry. The threat has crystallized in an ad in which the US official states: “Let me deliver a message from President [Donald] Trump to the world: If you are considering coming to the United States illegally, don’t even think about it. Let me be clear: If you come to our country and break our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome.” Noem’s message is punctuated with images of arrests and caravans of migrants trying to reach the US.
“We do not agree,” President Sheinbaum stated regarding the spot, which, she specified, “has highly discriminatory content.” “It shouldn’t be,” she added. “If a city in a country wants to promote its tourism, its culture, that’s a very different thing from a paid advertisement that broadcasts discriminatory messages.” The president indicated that the institution that combats discrimination, Conapred, received citizen complaints regarding the broadcast of the ad through broadcasters such as Televisa, TV Azteca, and Imagen, which control the most-watched channels.
Conapred sent the broadcasters a letter “inviting” them to stop broadcasting the message. “The spot contains a discriminatory message that violates human dignity and could encourage acts of rejection or violence against people on the move,” reads the letter, which Sheinbaum showed at her morning press conference. The president has ruled out sanctioning the broadcasters who aired the ad, because it is not strictly prohibited by law. “We hope there will be greater awareness among the media,” she commented.
Sheinbaum pointed out that until 2014, the law imposed a prohibition requiring radio and television broadcasters not to broadcast political or commercial propaganda from foreign governments or entities, as well as messages that could influence the country’s internal affairs. However, the president clarified, this article was eliminated by Congress during the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto, who distinguished himself by being very unprotected and opening the door to foreign exploitation of national resources and assets.
The president stated that this week she will send the bill to the legislature to reinstate this prohibition. “We have decided to reinstate the article and put it back in the law,” she indicated, “so that no foreign government, no entity of any foreign government, can pay—the point is that they are paying—to broadcast these advertisements, this propaganda, which has a discriminatory message.” Sheinbaum brought the discussion to the realm of sovereignty and nationalism. “We believe that our sovereignty and respect for Mexico warrant reintroducing this article into law,” he stated.
Source: elpais
