In the Chamber of Deputies, the parliamentary leaders of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the National Action Party (PAN), and even the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) flatly rejected the Penal Code reform initiative launched by Morena deputy Armando Corona.
The legislator presented a proposal to imprison anyone who creates and disseminates memes and stickers through platforms using artificial intelligence and other digital editing tools to ridicule others, for three to six years.
Corona Arvizu went further by requesting that the prison sentence be increased by up to half and could reach a maximum of nine years if the victim of mockery on social media and platforms for memes and stickers, audios, videos, photos, and other digital materials is an active public servant.
Separately, the leaders of the PRI benches, Rubén Moreira; Representatives of the PAN (Albiazul) party, José Elías Lixa, and the GOLDEN (Urban) party, Ricardo Monreal, concurred in their discrediting of the controversial bill.
Representative Monreal Ávila first tried to downplay the issue, joking that if his fellow party member’s bill were approved, many reporters and journalists would already be in prison.
He then stated that the proposal may have been intended to be ingenious, but it lacks the consensus of the party; it was presented in a personal capacity, and due to its content, it will not be passed in committees or in the Plenary.
“No, not many of you would be here, ha ha ha,” he burst out laughing when asked about the issue.
“No, no, I, I, I am against all of that. It’s an initiative like many presented here, with ingenuity, creativity, and even a bit of bad humor, but no, it won’t happen, I’m telling you right now,” he announced.
The Morena leader emphasized that it is inappropriate to propose reforms that might even suggest attacks or attempts to limit freedom of expression.
He also admitted that some federal congressmen are presenting proposals that lack the necessary quality; however, it is their right to make whatever proposals they deem appropriate.
“I’ve seen some initiatives that, honestly, well, why should I tell you… I respect the capacity for initiative, but this one in particular, I don’t think will pass. I wouldn’t vote for it, even though it’s a colleague of mine. It hasn’t been discussed in the group, but he has the right to present it. But no, nothing should be done that affects freedom of expression,” Monreal Ávila added.
On the contrary, the parliamentary leader of the PRI party, Rubén Moreira, described the Morena legislator’s proposal as further evidence that his party is heading the country toward authoritarianism and dictatorship.
Without the humor displayed by Representative Monreal, Moreira Valdez declared that the initiative is unacceptable because it involves silencing the voices of those who use memes and stickers to express a critical stance.
“It is unacceptable and typical of a dictatorial government to try to silence voices, and at this time, these types of demonstrations are sometimes much more forceful than a speech, as it means completely shutting down criticism of any kind, and it is typical of dictatorial governments,” he warned.
Representative Corona’s idea is an example of how the Morena government and the legislators of the majority bloc are bothered by freedom of expression and the use of ingenuity to express differences with them.
In turn, the coordinator of the Albiazul faction, José Elías, completely repudiated the initiative in question, calling it “nonsense” and absurd.
Ironically, he noted that it would be good to create memes and stickers of Mr. Corona Arvizu, before any criticism expressed through these digital tools is punishable by imprisonment.
He lamented that some legislators, who lack the capacity to make proposals, want to make a public statement, and even more serious, that with “absurd” proposals like the one mentioned, they ultimately intend to attack freedom of expression.
“I believe this is an absurd and outdated proposal. This isn’t the first time that a legislator, either not knowing what to present or seeking to put a stop to freedom of expression, has pursued this type of absurd reform. Well, I even have my sponsor stickers, so I’ll send them to you before the law puts us in jail,” Lixa Abimerhi stated.
The legislator asked not to focus so much attention on “nonsense” promoted to downplay issues as serious as the crime of “fiscal huachicol” and the involvement of former public servants, politicians, governors, and public officials.
However, he sounded a warning, noting that “all that’s missing is for Big Brother of the law to spy on us in real time, then start seeing the stickers.”
Source: mvsnoticias
