Campeche, the capital of censorship

In recent months, accusations of government censorship in Mexico have multiplied alarmingly. Attempts to silence criticism or control the dissemination of information come from various institutions, authorities, and powers. Sometimes they take the form of legislative initiatives, as was the case with the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law, which implemented excessive restrictions on broadcast content, and sometimes with judicial rulings, either prohibiting the dissemination of information or forcing dissatisfied critics to issue public apologies to restore the honor of the offended official.

Within this legal ecosystem, which is already hostile to the media, the case of the Governor of Campeche is undoubtedly one of the most worrying. Layda Sansores has made censorship a form of government. Her attacks on journalists are not limited to mere spontaneous expressions to refute some of her critics. Rather, the Governor has implemented a system that systematically and institutionally intimidates those she considers her enemies. What's worse is that the censorship mechanism is funded with public funds.

On the one hand, the Campeche government has a legal apparatus that it uses indiscriminately to file lawsuits and complaints against media outlets and journalists who publish information that bothers the governor. The cases are generally handled by public officials in her administration, such as Walther David Patrón Bacab, head of Social Communications, or by employees of the local Legal Counsel's Office, such as Juan Pedro Alcudia and César Cuauhtémoc Sánchez Cabrera.

While it is true that Executive Branch institutions generally have a Social Communications team, this department's primary function is to disseminate the government's actions as an institution. However, it cannot be dedicated to building or preserving the personal image of the current governor or the political party that nominated him. Similarly, the Legal Counsel's purpose is to provide legal defense for the government, but not to file lawsuits to defend the governor's personal interests.

Layda Sansores has used government human resources to file lawsuits for moral damages and complaints for incitement of hatred, among other lawsuits, to defend her personal image, rather than the institutional interests of the Campeche government. The clearest example is the civil and criminal actions filed against Jorge Luis González and the Campeche-based digital media outlet Tribuna, which resulted in the imposition of a judicial censorship on the outlet.

In addition to the legal offensive team, the Governor also organized a media communications tool. I'm referring to the program she hosts, known as "Tuesday of the Jaguar," which is broadcast weekly online. In it, Sansores directly attacks journalists, even using cartoons and satire to ridicule them, at public expense.

It is worth mentioning that the Campeche Television and Radio System itself acknowledged, amidst contradictions, that the transmission of each episode of Martes del Jaguar costs $11,863.50 pesos, requiring two cameramen and one audio operator, with two video cameras and an audio console (access to information request with folio 040085400001422).

To date, dozens of requests for access to information can be found on the National Transparency Platform. These requests expressly question the source of funding for Jaguar Tuesday, as well as the prizes the Governor "gives away" during the program, such as laptops and motorcycles. They also request information about possible investigations into administrative responsibilities and human rights violations committed through the program. In Campeche, censorship has been cynically institutionalized as part of the government's functions.