Television and Political Pressures

The presidential elections of 1988 and 1994 were hotly contested, fueled by a resurgent Partido de Acción Nacional ( PAN, or National Action Party) and a surprisingly strong showing by the reformist, left-leaning Partido Revolucionario Democrático ( PRD, or Democratic Revolutionary Party). Both elections revealed the evident pro-government bias of television news reporting; such pro-government coverage became the target of much criticism. With its hold over Mexico's television audience, Televisa was at the center of this political storm. (The rebellion in Chiapas in January 1994 greatly intensified the heated debate over Televisa's prejudicial reporting.) In this tense political context, the sale of one of the government's television facilities in 1993 became a major political issue, rather than simply another example of the privatization policy of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari ( 1988-94). For many critics of Mexican television, the government's decision on the bids held the potential of weakening the monopolistic position of Televisa, and more importantly, of leading to an alternative perspective in television journalism specifically, and programming in general.

The successful bid came from the Salinas Pliego interests (not related to President Salinas), whose fortune derived primarily from his family's chain of consumer electronic stores and other commercial interests. The decision surprised many experts, as some of the competing bids appeared better capitalized and proposed by business groups with much more experience or assets in broadcasting. Time will tell whether this privatized network (channel 13), in conjunction with the opening of the Mexican media market, will in fact break the dominant position of Televisa.