CULTURE

Raúl Trejo Delarbre THE THREE FACES OF MEXICAN TELEVISION

Imagine that instead of the large cians, for its presence in other na- television networks ABC, NBC tions and of course for its and CBS there was only one tele- Since 1972, the Mexican outstanding financial boom. Televi- vision consortium. Imagine that government has begun sion is big business anywhere: given Don Rather, instead of being an forming its own T V the investment required, television agressive interviewer of the vice- network profits can be astronomical. president, was an open collaborator Mexican television has been and propagandist for the govern- no exception and because of the ment. Add to this the possibility peculiar conditions in which it has that instead of the PBS network, the Western European one. Here, as developed, Mexican television has there existed only a few isolated tel- in the United States, the exploita- been a unique business in the evision channels with a cultural or tion of television as a business and world of electronic communications. educational bent. Consider also the as a cultural industry has been the Although technical experiments possibility that the U.S. govern- responsibility, basically, of private and financial investment began in ment had its own national television interests. But, unlike a free en- the 1940s in Mexico, the first formal network that depended directly on terprise system where rivairy acts TV transmission did not take place the State Department. as a stimulus, Mexico television de- until July 31 1950, when Channel 4 The comparison is certainly veloped during its first twenty first transmitted from Mexico City. difficult. But that is how difficult it years under the auspices one com- One month later Mexican President is to describe television in my coun- pany. And, in contrast with the Eu- Miguel Alemán Valdés' State of the try to non-Mexican readers. Mexi- ropean model, the Mexican state Nation address was transmitted. can television, although it is showed little interest in the elec- Although not premeditated, these obviously and deeply influenced by tronic communication medium un- first events in Mexican television U.S. television programming, bears til the early 1970s. On the other would have historical significance. little resemblance to the system of hand the attempts on the part of in- Since that time, Mexican television propriety and social and political dependent social groups and new has been directed by private in- equilibrium present in U.S. televi- private enterprises to make profes- terests, although without disregard- sion. Nor does the Mexican televi- sional television have been scarce ing the government's interests. sion model resemble the Western and, up to the present, almost al- According to Mexican constitution, European television where the ways unsuccessful. air space through which the elec- government's presence has been so tronic signals pass belongs to the dominant that there are now calls The Most Successful Business in state. Thus, the government con- for a "deregulation" of the televi- the Mexican Crisis cedes the right to transmit by radio sion industry to allow private or television to private groups and groups to operate television chan- Mexican television is known both to public institutions. The principal nels. In Mexico the situation is as inside and outside the country for concessionary today is the same one far from the U.S. model as it is from the notable capacity of its techni- that in July 1951 began television transmissions in Mexico City. Televisa, at present the principal Researcher at the Social Research Institute at UNAM and editor of two communications consortium in the books on Mexican television. 41 CULTURE Spanish-speaking world, and government, which has maintained without doubt, one of the most in- a close alliance with the private tel- fluential in the world, has its origins evision network. In exchange for its in the group of companies which be- non-critical attitude towards the gan promoting commercial televi- government, Televisa receives sion in Mexico in the 1950s. preferential treatment in the trans- The character of private televi- mission of its signals by the public sion in Mexico —conceived as a microwave network and the state- money-making instrument rather owned satelite system, as well as ex- than a medium for information, edu- emption from taxes. The most im- cation or service— has prevailed portant concession has been the during the nearly forty years it has almost unlimited permission which existed. The company that began the government has granted Televi- television transmissions inaugurat- sa in the lucrative entertainment in- ed three channels in Mexico City in dustry. One of the best known the 1950s and soon thereafter ex- examples of Televisa's influence panded throughout the country. was the World Soccer Cup which First known as Telesistema Mex- Mexico hosted in 1986. Due to its icano, in December 1972 it took influence over the International over the only other private compe- Soccer Federation (FIFA), Televisa titor and changed its narre to managed to overcome the negotia- Televisa (Televisión vía Satélite.). tions headed by Henry Kissinger During the 1970s Televisa grew at Miguel Alemán Velasco, President of Televisa. (Pho- who tried to bring the World Cup to a rate that was unusual in the world to by Herón Alemán) the United States. The 1986 cham- telecommunications industry. At pionship provided incalculable present, it dominates the greater gains for Televisa and its partners, part of television transmitting and despite complaints from several Eu- repeating stations in Mexico, and Unmeasured Political and ropean countries about the poor has affiliates in other countries. Its Cultural Influence quality of some transmissions. most important foreign affiliate is Univisión which heads more than But perhaps more important than Although Televisa maintains cor- 300 cable TV, stations in the Unit- Televisa's financial strength is its dial relations with the Mexican ed States. Televisa, inside and out- political and ideological influence. It government, on occasions Televisa side of Mexico, is connected with has often been said that Televisa finds itself the target of criticisms video film production, radio and has become the country's Ministry by government officials and mem- recording companies, as well as with of Education. Children and young bers of the ruling Institutional tourism, advertising, entertain- Mexicans pay more attention Revolutionary Party (PRI). One of ment, sports, museums and news to televised messages than to the reasons for such confrontations agencies. In spite of Mexico's eco- classroom instruction. Various is Televisa's reticence to accept the nomic crisis, Televisa has made researchers have shown that Mexi- Mexican government's foreign poli- notable financial progress during cans with an elementary school edu- cy, particularly with regards to the the last few years. cation know more about cartoon situation in Central America. While characters than about national Mexico has shown solidarity with heroes. That is, without doubt, an in- the government and people of Despite cordial relations ternational phenomenon. But in the Nicaragua, Televisa has supported between Televisa and the case of Mexico, the cultural om- Ronald Reagan's position in Central nipresence of this medium is partic- America and has even refused to government, conflicts often ularly serious since TV programs give space to artistic and cultural arise in reporting on frequently are not even made in events featuring Nicaraguans. In Central America Mexico nor do they have any con- 1986, the well-known Televisa direc- nection with Mexican interests. tor Raúl Velasco refused to present U.S. programming continues to oc- the Nicaraguan beauty queen in his If one were to take into account cupy a very large portion of Televi- Sunday television program, insist- only Televisa's advertising sa's air time. Several years ago, ing that he did not want to "offend" revenues from the three rational Mexican writer Carlos Monsivais his Miami audience by bringing chains that it owns inside Mexico it described the situation by saying someone to the screen who would be considered the most im- that we are faced with "the first represented the Sandinistas. Velas- portant private consortium in the generation of Americans born in co's attitude was condemned by a country. In 1986 Televisa sold more Mexico." legislator in the Chamber of than 766 billion pesos worth of pub- But more decisive than the in- Deputies who stated that the pri- licity space for Mexican commer- direct American cultural penetra- vate TV consortium did not have cials during television peak hours. tion is the specifically political the right to "act as an electronic Without a doubt, only the state- influence of Televisa's owners. The chancellor." Nevertheless, rela- owned oil company PEMEX has political importance of Televisa has tions between the government and greater revenues than Televisa. been recognized by the Mexican private television in Mexico have 42 CULTURE

noticeably improved. Both Miguel federal government established an they constitute a novelty as much Alemán Velasco, son of the Mexican official TV system, called Imevi- in their programming as in the re- ex-president and himself president Sión (Mexican Television Institute) lation with their audience. Although of Televisa since 1986, and Emilio which is directly dependent on the funded by state governments in- Azcárraga Milmo, principal share- Ministry of the Interior. The ex- cluding Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, holder and president of the council istence of the two national net- Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Ver- heading Televisa and Univisa, have works, one private and one acruz and Tabasco, state television indicated that they are active mem- state-owned, and of some local Im- has take into account not only offi- bers of the PRI. evisión channels, has provided a cial information but also local con- The main TV news program an- balance, in relative tercos, to Televi- cerns. Because these TV stations chored by Jacobo Zabludovsky sa's cultural and informativa he- have ties to the social situations in dedicates approximately a fifth of gemony. each city or region, they awaken a its 30 minutes daily transmission To a great extent, government new interest in their TV audience, time to information on the PRI television is very similar to private Local audiences begin to see televi- presidential campaign. The com- television, partly because there has sion not only as a source of mes- bined time given to coverage of the not been another sufficiently attrac- sages from the center of the country opposition candidates does not tive and solid model. In order to at- (or from foreign countries) but also reach even half of that time. The en- tract the Televisa audience, as a vehicle for expressing their own tire opposition has criticized Televi- Imevisión has almost always fallen opinions. This is an option that is sa's handling of information and all back on the same programming as also subect to bureaucratic changes. the parties —primarily the PRI- private television: foreign series, understand that the 1988 electoral soap operas and game shows. Ime- results will be greatly influenced by visión has suffered notorious ad- television. ministrative instability because it is Mexican television subject to political control. State- developed during its first State Television, a Still Undefined owned Channel 13 had seven direc- Project tors between 1976 and 1981, which 20 years under the auspices prevented it from developing medi- of one company, today the In order not to depend solely on its um range projects. Even today, largest T V monopoly in alliance with Televisa, the Mexican state-owned television, in contrast the Spanish-speaking world government has been forming its with private television, has not de- own television network since the veloped its own personality. 1970s. In 1972, the government ac- A third option has been develop- quired Channel 13, previously a pri- ing in the rest of the country: tele- In Michoacán and Veracruz for ex- vate channel. Since then, it has vision owned by state government. ample, changes in state government increased its participation in the In the last few years, approximate- meant inevitable upsets in the electronic medium through numer- ly twenty TV stations of this kind work of local public TV stations. ous local repeat stations. With the have been established. Although Nonetheless state government- inauguration of Channel 7 and a na- each state TV station has its own owned television is already seen as tional network in May 1986, the peculiar characteristics, together a new possibility unlike either pri- 43 CULTURE vate television or that transmitted businessmen." "It is difficult," he ture and the deviations in the Mex­ by the federal government from stated, "to find in the whole world ican systems are also to blame. But Mexico City. a similarly antidemocratic situation the contribution of television to Despite these changes, the basic Mexico's cultural backwardness guidelines of Mexican television - and even to problems, such as wor­ and the information provided by ker migration, have not been minor. television- continues to be defined To a great extent, In July 1985, Senator Guadalupe by Televisa. Not long ago, Mex­ government television is Rivera stated that television's cul­ ican writer Carlos Pereyra, profes­ tural "invasion" has contributed sor of Philosophy and Letters at the very similar to private among other things to the illegal Autonomous National University television emigration of "hundreds of thou­ (UN AM) was astonished at the en­ sands of peasants and workers from thronement of an "electronic oligar­ other sectors [who] abandon the chy formed by a handful of where a powerful communications country every year with the idea medium, developing in the second that in the United States they will half of the century, functions ac­ find a1l that [the media] let them be­ cording to the exclusive arbitration lieve, but the reality is something The contribution of of a small group. Millions of Mexi­ else and they will discover this cans have almost no other record much later." O television to Mexico's of national and international reali­ cultural backwardness and ty beyond the repugnant informa­ even to problems, such as tive strategy of Televisa." Surely worker migration, have not many of the deformations and in­ sufficiencies of Mexican television been minor cannot be attributed only to bis medium; limitations of political cul-