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How the Mexican Media Became Quasi-Public Servants
 George Baker - Energia.com
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April 27, 2010
From the 1930s to the present, the federal government has been able to shape the course of press reporting in Mexico, especially in the energy sector.
For over a half-century (1935-90) the government controlled the supply of newsprint, with obvious implications for publications whose editorial line diverged from government expectations.[1] To resist government control, a few publications, notably El Norte in Monterrey, imported their own newsprint. ZETA in Tijuana went a step further and printed its newspapers in San Diego.
The print media, television and radio have long profited from government advertising, with the understanding that there are editorial strings attached.
As well, supplementary payments (known as embutes) have been customary to journalists assigned to a given ministry or agency.
As has been shown in at least one case, Contralinea, a monthly publication, has been the object of judicial harassment in the courts as well as police badgering of its general manager and several reporters. Its offices have been burglarized several times, most recently during April 10-11, 2010.[2]
Indirectly, the existence of great business fortunes built on government contracts in the energy sector created concentrations of wealth and power which would, inevitably, oppose the inquiries of journalists.[3]
The state labor unions cast a long shadow over reporting—negative or otherwise. The anti-information policies of the labor unions may be seen in the fact that the Oil Workers' Union (STPRM) does not maintain a website, nor do its national leaders give press interviews.[4] These unions also maintain their own system of embutes to buy favorable treatment in the press. The unionized worker knows not to speak to the press, and to do so is to put his or her continued employment at risk.[5]
As a result of these factors and considerations, plus one other mentioned in the text of the report, the national and regional media have a long tradition of self-censorship.
Note: This excerpt comes from a market note, which is available in its entirety at the eStore of Energia.com
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[1] As president, Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-40) is remembered in Mexican history mainly for the expropriation of the oil industry in 1938; but he also was an activist in other areas, notably agriculture. A policy innovation of commensurate political importance was the establishment in 1935 of a 51% state enterprise known as PIPSA (Productora y Importadora de Papel, S.A.) which was given the monopoly over the manufacture and importation of newsprint.
[2] http://contralinea.info/archivo-revista/index.php/2010/04/12/allanan-y-roban-las-instalaciones-de-contralinea/
[3] Of these fortunes, the most commented upon is that of the late Carlos Hank González, who is famously remembered as having said: “A politician who is poor is a poor politician.” The former governor of the State of Mexico and cabinet minister built his empire on trucking contracts with Pemex. The fortune of the family of the late Juan Camilo Mouriño is also built on Pemex contracts.
[4] The CFE’s (Federal Electricity Commission) labor union, SUTERM, does have a website: http://www.suterm.org.mx.
[5] No interview with a Pemex employee who had been present at the massive explosion at the Cactus gas processing plant in July of 1996 appeared in the Mexican media.
George Baker is the director of Energia.com and publisher of Mexico Energy Intelligence®, a publishing and consulting firm based in Houston. He can be reached via email at g.baker(at)energia.com. |
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