In a crushing indictment published yesterday (Jun. 7), the respected British newspaper The Guardian claims that the Televisa network -- the largest in the Spanish speaking world -- was literally bought by several politicians in this country, among the most prominent of whom is PRI presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto. The "popular leftwing leader" is the 2012 PRD presidential nominee, whom the paper says establishment politicians are determined to crush (The Old Guard's worst nightmare: Andrés Manuel López Obrador).If the allegations are true, they confirm much of which the student movement YoSoy132 has been saying about the Mexican media in recent weeks, especially with respect to the powerful and influential Televisa news network.
They also paint former PAN president Vicente Fox as a political conspirator in his own right, heavily preoccupied with the destruction of López Obrador in the 2006 election.
The Guardian based its sweeping allegations on dozens of computer files which it says it recently received from a confidential source. Although the newspaper emphasized that it could not absolutely verify the authenticity of the documents, all of them "appeared to have been created several years ago," and many events described in the files had in fact occurred and could be independently proven. The paper said the files are likely genuine.
According to The Guardian, the computer files include:
"• An outline of fees apparently charged for raising Peña Nieto's national profile when he was governor of the state of Mexico (2005-2011).
• A detailed media strategy explicitly designed to torpedo a previous presidential bid by leftwing candidate Andres Manuel López Obrador, who is currently Peña Nieto's closest rival.
• Payment arrangements suggesting that the office of former president Vicente Fox concealed exorbitant public spending on media promotion."
The newspaper added,
"One of the documents is a PowerPoint presentation which explicitly states its aim of making sure "López Obrador does not win the 2006 elections." That bitterly contested election saw the leftwing candidate lose a commanding lead and ended with him claiming he had been cheated. It was apparently created just after midnight on 4 April 2005, hours before President Fox was reported to have met the heads of Televisa and TV Azteca."
The paper said that "many of the computer files seen by The Guardian were saved under the name of Yessica de Lamadrid . . . who at the time was Enrique Peña Nieto's lover," and an employee of a marketing company which regularly did business with Televisa.
In 2005 Peña Nieto was still married to his first wife, who died suddenly in 2007. But he's admitted to having two children by other women at the same time. One of those children is alive; the other died at about a year of age. The Guardian story did not indicate whether de Lamadrid was the mother of either of Peña Nieto's illegitimate children, or when their relationship ended. (PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto admits, "I was unfaithful"; The many romances of PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto).
Televisa said yesterday that it would not comment on the documents until it sees them. Peña Nieto told reporters today that the documents "have 'no solid basis' and are not authentic."
Defending its exposé of Televisa, The Guardian's management noted in a sidebar post,
"There is a clear public interest to investigate [sic] allegations of media bias in Mexico, where the issue has become a central theme of the current presidential election campaign. Media experts in Mexico have long pointed out a serious problem of transparency in public spending on political propaganda."
The Guardian reports are in the first two links below.
Guardian stories
Computer files link TV dirty tricks to favorite for Mexico presidency: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/07/mexico-presidency-tv-dirty-tricks?intcmp=239.
Mexico presidential candidate under pressure over Televisa media scandal: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/08/mexico-presidential-candidate-media-televisa
June 8 - Televisa Responds to The Guardian: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/06/televisa-responds-to-guardian.html#more.
MGRR reports
A "free press" in Mexico - but who's really paying the tab?: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/05/free-press-in-mexico-but-whos-really.html.
Vicente Fox, a PRIsta in very thin disguise: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/06/vicente-fox-prista-in-very-thin.html.
Peña Nieto rejects YoSoy debate demand: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/06/pena-nieto-rejects-yosoy-debate-demand.html
YoSoy 132 demands final debate between Mexican presidential candidates: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/06/yosoy-132-demands-final-debate-between.html#more.
Mexicans surveyed on YoSoy 132 attitudes: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/06/mexicans-surveyed-on-yosoy-132.html.
YoSoy 132 returns to Mérida streets, this time showing its true colors: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/06/yosoy-132-returns-to-merida-streets.html#more
"YoSoy 132" protest arrives in Mérida: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/05/yosoy-132-protest-arrives-in-merida.html.
Peña Nieto strikes back on PAN "narco alliance" claims - and hits the bullseye: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/05/pena-nieto-strikes-back-on-pan-narco.html.
Yo Soy 132 demonstrators in Mérida, May 23. Their main target was the media - with a dash of PRI and Enrique Peña Nieto tossed in for good measure.
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