Ley Televisa
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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 A congress is a formal meeting of the Representative democracy, representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political party, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle Engl ...
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 p ...
. 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, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...
and
TV Azteca Televisión Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., commonly known as TV Azteca, 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 so ...
. This law concedes to these two private television networks, free of monetary costs, the digital frequency spectrum, a
public good In economics, a public good (also referred to as a social good or collective good)Oakland, W. H. (1987). Theory of public goods. In Handbook of public economics (Vol. 2, pp. 485–535). Elsevier. is a commodity, product or service that is bo ...
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 Mexico, United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the ...
.


Background

One of the main promoters of the ''Televisa Law'' was
Javier Orozco Gómez Javier Orozco Gómez (born 18 November 1964) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the PVEM. As of 2013 he served as Deputy of both the LIX and LXII Legislatures of the Mexican Congress representing the State of Mexico. He also served as Sena ...
, General Attorney of the
Grupo Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...
and later federal deputy representing the
Partido Verde Ecologista de México The Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (, , PVEM or PVE) is a green political party in Mexico. Founded in 1986, the party is associated with Jorge González Torres and his son Jorge Emilio González Martínez. It has seldom gotten more than 10% of ...
and replacement senator for
Irma Ortega Fajardo María Irma Ortega Fajardo is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico. As of 2014 she served as Senator of the LX Legislature of the Mexican Congress The LX Legislature (60th session) of the Congress of Mexi ...
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 (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...
(PRI). However, several senators from both parties objected to this law such as
Javier Corral Jurado Javier Corral Jurado (born 2 August 1966) is a Mexican politician formerly affiliated with the National Action Party (Mexico), National Action Party (PAN), who served as Governor of Chihuahua from 2016 to 2021. He has served in politics since th ...
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) is a state-level social democracy, social democratic political party in Mexico (previously national, until 2024). The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 198 ...
, 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 has served in both chambers of Congress of Mexico, Congress. Early life Cárde ...
, senator for
Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...
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 lawyer and politician affiliated with the conservative National Action Party (PAN). He was a presidential candidate in the 1994 election and President of the Mexican Sena ...
,''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''
, ''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 Jorge is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name George. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese . It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'' ...
, and engineer and president of the
Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones The Federal Commission of Telecommunications (Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones) (CoFeTel) was the regulator of telecommunications in Mexico, and was part of the Mexico's Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT). Formed in 1996 and r ...
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 (, SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Government. Judges of the SCJN are appointed ...
, explained that the article 28 of the
Ley Federal de Radio y Televisión Ley may refer to: Toponyms * Ley (landform), name for a crag, rock or cliff in the north German language area * Ley (crater), crater on the Moon * Ley, Moselle, commune in France * Ley Hill, hill in England People * Ley Matampi (born 1989) ...
established that the granting of concessions violates the articles 1, 25, 27 and 28 of the
Constitution of Mexico The current Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (), was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, Mexico, by a constituent convention during the Mexican Revolution. I ...
, 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 Spanish word meaning reform, has the following meanings: Companies and organizations * ''Reforma'' (newspaper), a daily published in Mexico City :* Grupo Reforma, parent company of the newspaper :* Agencia Reforma, news wire agenc ...
'', May 6, 2007. *
Santiago Creel Santiago Creel Miranda (; born on 11 December 1954) is a Mexican lawyer and politician, and a member of the National Action Party (PAN). Since 1 September 2021, he has been a federal deputy and the current president of the Congress of the Uni ...
, 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 2000 to 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the Nat ...
, 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''
''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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
struck down several key clauses of the law.Mexican Court’s Media Ruling Shows Support for Competition
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 (IMER; English: "Mexican Radio Institute") is a Mexican public broadcaster. It was founded in 1983 as a companion to the public TV broadcaster Imevisión, since privatized and known as TV Azteca. When Imevisió ...
(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 Canal Once (channel 11) (stylised as canal once, formerly once and once tv) 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. I ...
, Canal 22,
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 and ...
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