The Televisa Law (Spanish: ''Ley Televisa'') is the name given by the press to the Federal Law of Radio and Television (Spanish: Ley Federal de Radio y Televisión or LFRTV), a controversial law approved by the
Congress of Mexico
The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...
in 2006, shortly before the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
. This law concentrates on the deregulation of the digital spectrum to be assigned to the two national television networks in the country:
Televisa
Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
and
TV Azteca
TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two national ...
.
This law concedes to these two private television networks, free of monetary costs, the
digital frequency spectrum, a
public good belonging to the
Government of Mexico
The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...
.
Background
One of the main promoters of the ''Televisa Law'' was
Javier Orozco Gómez, General Attorney of the
Grupo Televisa
Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
and later federal deputy representing the
Partido Verde Ecologista de México
The Ecological Green Party of Mexico ( es, Partido Verde Ecologista de México, , PVEM or PVE) is a green-conservative political party in Mexico. In the 2012 legislative elections, the party took 34 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (out of 50 ...
and replacement senator for
Irma Ortega Fajardo during the presentation of the law.
This law obtained the votes of the two parties with relative majority in both chambers of congress
National Action Party (PAN) and
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...
(PRI). However, several senators from both parties objected to this law such as
Javier Corral Jurado from the PAN and several others from the PRI. All of the deputies of the third major party in Mexico, the
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD, es, Partido de la Revolución Democrática, ) is a social democratic political party in Mexico. The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 1986 from the Institut ...
, the PRD, voted against this law, with
Raymundo Cárdenas
Raymundo Cárdenas Hernández (born 3 February 1950) is a Mexican left-wing politician from Zacatecas affiliated with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) who currently serves in the lower house of the Mexican Congress.
Early life
Cárd ...
, senator for
Zacatecas
, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
, map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type ...
being one of the most vocal.
Another key supporter of this law was
Diego Fernández de Cevallos
Diego Fernández de Cevallos Ramos (; born 16 March 1941) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the conservative National Action Party (PAN). He was a presidential candidate in the 1994 election and President of the Mexican Senate.
Life ...
,
[''Quedó consumada en el Senado la ampliación del poder de radio y tv'']
, ''La Jornada'', May 31, 2006. which has previously been criticized for his defense of private parties against the government while acting as a congressperson. Fernández de Cevallos directed harsh criticism towards Javier Corral
[''Javier Corral, «''inconforme''» y «''resentido''» por la LFRTV, dice Diego Fernández''](_blank)
, ''La Jornada'', December 15, 2005 who opposed the law due to his personal convictions against the generalized opinion of his party. Corral Jurado limited himself to say that he would keep striving for an integral, democratic reform for the electronic media.
The appearance of
Jorge Arredondo Martínez, and engineer and president of the
Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones declared after the incisive questioning by
Emilio Gamboa Patrón
Emilio Antonio Gamboa Patrón (born 23 August 1950) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the PRI. He was Senator during the 2000–2003 and 2003–2006 Legislatures and deputy during the LX Legislature and the LXII Legislature of the Mexica ...
, senator from the PRI, whether the law constituted an advance:
Claims of deficiencies of this law
* In May 2007,
Sergio Salvador Aguirre Anguiano, minister of the
Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ( es, Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Go ...
, explained that the article 28 of the
Ley Federal de Radio y Televisión established that the granting of concessions violates the articles 1, 25, 27 and 28 of the
Constitution of Mexico
The Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States ( es, Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in th ...
, and would encourage the concentration of broadcasting and telecommunications in the hands of the current licensees, Televisa and TV Azteca.
''Impide reforma pluralidad en TV''
''Reforma
REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, more commonly known as REFORMA, is an affiliate of the American Library Association formed in 1971 to promote library services to Lati ...
'', May 6, 2007.
*Santiago Creel
Santiago Creel Miranda (; born on 11 December 1954) is a Mexican lawyer and politician, who's a member of the National Action Party. Since September 1, 2021, he is a federal deputy and the current President of the Congress of the Union and of t ...
, the former Secretary of Interior during the administration of Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...
, who supported the law declared in 2007, now as senator, that the approval occurred under pressure, that it was not negotiated, but imposed prior to the 2006 presidential election, when "''the involved parties where immersed in an intense campaign that required media exposure''", and that resulted in legislation "''with many defects''".[''La ley Televisa, una imposición previa a las elecciones de 2006, según Creel''](_blank)
''La Jornada'', May 5, 2007 Even the opposition has expressed admiration for Creel's courage in exposing the mistakes of the administration he was a member of.
Supreme Court
In June, 2007, the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
struck down several key clauses of the law.[Mexican Court’s Media Ruling Shows Support for Competition ](_blank)
New York Times. Elisabeth Malkin. 06/06/07. Retrieved: 10/05/18 The right of the two companies to use the spectrum without paying for a license was struck down. The alternate spectrum dispersion method given (that of auction to highest bidder) was also revoked, returning the choice to the executive. As a secondary point, the automatic renewal of licenses after 20 years was also struck down by the Court. In line with the nature of the dispute, the Court held public deliberations and opened up witness & expert testimony in an unprecedented way.
Other reactions
The Instituto Mexicano de la Radio
The Instituto Mexicano de la Radio (English: "Mexican Radio Institute") is a Mexican public broadcaster, akin to National Public Radio in the US. It is also known as IMER.
History
It was founded in 1983 as a companion to the public TV broadcast ...
(Grupo IMER) did not agree with this law because they claimed that if approved, all the radio stations of this group, as well as the television stations Once TV
Once (Eleven; formerly Once TV México and Canal Once) is a Mexican educational broadcast television network owned by National Polytechnic Institute. The network's flagship station is XEIPN-TDT channel 11 in Mexico City. It broadcasts across ...
, Canal 22
XEIMT-TDT, known as Canal 22, is a television station located in Mexico City. Broadcasting on channel 22, XEIMT is owned by Televisión Metropolitana, S.A. de C.V., and operated by the Secretariat of Culture. It is one of Mexico's principal pub ...
, Edusat
EduSAT is an Italian microsatellite which was launched in August 2011. The satellite was built and is operated by the Sapienza University of Rome in conjunction with the Italian Space Agency ASI, and is primarily used for educational outreach an ...
and TV UNAM
TV UNAM (stylized as ''tvunam'' and ''tv•unam'', formerly written ''teveunam'') is an educational television network owned and operated by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City.
Programming on TV UNAM generally co ...
would be forced off the air. All the stations of the Grupo IMER then proceeded to broadcast the same song all day. Which was an allegory to the lack of plurality of the existing monopolies that always "plays the same song", and then a voice with no background music that reminded people that monopolies do not promote diversity and plurality of mass media. This protest against the new media law resulted in a successful action due to its public impact.
References
{{reflist
Televisa
Politics of Mexico
2006 in law
2007 in law
2006 in Mexico
2007 in Mexico
2006 in Mexican television
2007 in Mexican television
Digital terrestrial television in Mexico