Members of Congress never knew about the proposals presented by organizations in this sector.
Organizations of journalists and communicators in Yucatán pointed out the lack of interest from local lawmakers in legislating to defend the rights and protection of women and men who exercise the profession of journalism, as the current legislature is weeks away from concluding without considering the proposal presented in the State Congress on June 7, 2023.
Under the slogan “Journalists United for a Law,” the organizations named: Association of Journalists 7 de junio, Women Journalists and Communicators of Yucatán; National Association of Broadcasters of Mexico, Yucatan delegation, Sports Cronicles of Yucatan, Independent Union of Journalists of Yucatan, “Eligio Ancona” and the National Forum of Journalists and Communicators A.C., questioned the actions of the 25 deputies and their lack of interest in providing guarantees and rights to this sector.
They assured that the deputies who are about to conclude their term did not know the project presented at the Official Registry of the Legislative Power of the State, as it appears that the president of the Board of Political Coordination and Government of the State Congress, Víctor Hugo Lozano Poveda, did not allow the document to be delivered to the members of the different factions.
“On June 7, 2023, we, organizations of journalists and communicators, went to the State Congress to deliver a proposal, without any of them receiving us,” said the members of these organizations.
That day, by order of Lozano Poveda, the director of Social Communication, Dalila Magaña installed a table in the corridors of the legislative seat for signing the document.
Over a year of waiting for an answer about the fate of the presented document and separate dialogues with lawmakers from different factions, we were told that they do not know the proposal because they never received it, due to the Official Registry never turning it over. Therefore, no initiative was formulated, nor analyzed or discussed for approval or modification.
The proposal presented was integrated as a result of a year of meetings and seven working sessions to listen and collect the opinions, concerns, and requests from the guild, where it was concluded that Yucatán needs a law that grants rights and protection to local journalists.
Some of the most important points include:
– The creation of an Autonomous Public Organization with its own Juridical Personality and Patrimonial Property to protect, recognize, guarantee, and promote the exercise of free expression by people dedicated to journalism.
– Establishing a Mediation and Arbitration Commission for Freedom of Expression between journalists, government, and/or private individuals; creating a Citizen Consultative Council to address problems that may arise regarding freedom of expression in the state.
– Highlighting the importance of recognizing and accrediting individuals who dedicate themselves to this professional activity in the state of Yucatán (creating a register of media outlets to know who they are and where they are) and providing courses and workshops to allow for the professionalization of journalists.
– The existence of a specialized prosecution office that investigates and prosecutes crimes committed against journalists and their families due to the exercise of free journalism; measures aimed at protecting the conscience clause, professional secrecy, and author rights in accordance with full freedom of expression.
– Creating a trust or assistance fund for journalists in the state of Yucatán on a tripartite basis, with contributions from the journalists themselves, civil society as deemed necessary, and government at all levels.
– Also, the Legislative Power should convene Forums and consultations with various professionals dedicated to journalism in an Open Parliament to enrich proposals and, if necessary, create, expedite, and publish the Law for the Protection of Journalists in the State of Yucatán.
Yucatán’s journalists and communicators demand a law that dignifies the guild and sets the basis for having rights, security, and guarantees in the exercise of this profession.
It is crucial to specify that on that day, the arrival of a group of journalists generated a strong commotion among the current directors of the legislative power, where its leader, Víctor Hugo Lozano Poveda, months before the electoral process and having been a federal legislator candidate, the journalists does not understand his position for not having had a direct dialogue with communicators.
The reason why the legislative power does not want to support communicators is because they only call them when needed, but there is never total support towards their labor.
That is why today’s legislature goes out with an outstanding debt to local journalists.
It is important to specify that the current State Congress has never established a direct link with applicants, never set up a dialogue table, and less so did the president of the local Congress show interest in holding a working meeting with communicators.
The reasons are unknown, but it seems clear that Vila Bebé left a zero-support line for communicators on their main demands, which naturally caused a distancing between the PAN political class and local press.
In summary, the State Congress is leaving a huge stain in its relationship with communicators.
