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, 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 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 (, , 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 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, 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,''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, and engineer and president of the Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones declared after the incisive questioning by Emilio Gamboa Patrón, 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 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'', May 6, 2007. * Santiago Creel, 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 (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 22, Edusat and TV UNAM 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