Mexico. The country is already in the middle of an election season. The pre-candidates for the Mexican presidency are already touring the country in search (theoretically) of the support of the militants of their respective coalitions to participate in the (theoretical) election where they will formally be anointed as candidates. In parallel, within the offices of the National Electoral Institute (INE) the bureaucratic process for the construction of the candidacies is progressing without pause.
One of the steps that the alliances must complete in this process is the registration of the electoral platforms that they must submit for consideration before the General Council of the INE. This process will take place between January 15 and 30 but the alliances have already delivered to the institute their respective platforms that are already available to the public for reading. It should be noted that article 44 of the General Law on Electoral Institutions and Procedures establishes as one of the powers of the General Council "to register the electoral platform that national political parties and candidates must present for each electoral process", but there is no precise definition of the nature of this document.
Despite this lack of definition, the electoral platforms contain interesting indications of potential programs and public policies to be implemented if the respective coalition wins the elections. This is of interest to the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, which according to the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) represent 3.5% of the national economy and annual revenues of more than 515 billion pesos, without forgetting that they enable any aspect of contemporary society. Because of this importance, the ideas that the three coalitions have about these sectors deserve to be described and analyzed.
We now present the positions of the three coalitions on the telecommunications sector contained in their electoral platforms and in alphabetical order.
Together We Will Make History (Morena + Social Encounter Party + Labor Party)
The coalition whose candidate is Andrés Manuel López Obrador completely omits the issue of telecommunications in its electoral platform. To find more details, anyone interested should consult a document entitled Nation Project 2018 – 2024 that contains their government plan explained in detail.
On page 288 of the document, it indicates as a public policy strategy for the sector the granting of "social concessions using spectrum in different frequency bands (700, 1900, 2500, 1700 MHz) that are concessioned to provide mobile voice and data telecommunications services." The idea is to sublet frequencies to the current concessionaires in coverage regions 5 and 8 (states of Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Tlaxcala, Chiapas, Tabasco, Yucatán, Quintana Roo and Campeche) so that community initiatives and non-governmental organizations are the ones who deploy these networks.
This new network would operate in parallel to the Shared Network that will come into operation towards the end of March this year.
For Mexico at the forefront (PAN + PRD + Citizen Movement)
This coalition puts under the same roof political movements that used to be staunch adversaries. This may explain why the telecommunications sector is touched tangentially in the electoral platform delivered to the INE. At the end of the section entitled The need for economic development with growth, social inclusion and sustainability, it is only mentioned on page 39 as a potential public policy "to establish a broad digital agenda for economic development that contributes to deepening financial inclusion and the development of the digital economy (sic)".
Two other parts where reference is made to the telecommunications sector is on page 23 where it mentions "the national obligation to block cell phone and internet signals inside and on the peripheries of such centers" and on page 36 where they point out that the housing policy of a government under this alliance must ensure "decent housing, of quality, according to their needs, community coexistence and access to the internet".
All for Mexico (PRI, Green Ecologist Party of Mexico and New Alliance)
As the PRI is the party that seeks to defend its administration and remain in power, it is understood that its vision for the sector is an extension of the policies of the current administration. To this end, its electoral platform mentions the positive effects of the telecommunications reform enabled during this six-year period by highlighting on page 10 that "the telecommunications reform has introduced greater competition to the sector and has resulted in concrete benefits for the population in terms of access to the internet and mobile telephony, as well as a sustained reduction in the prices of these services."
For this coalition, the Shared Network would be the axis to bring connectivity to the majority of the population if they win the presidency. As its electoral platform points out on page 15, "it is essential to promote the Shared Network that could facilitate that more than 100 million Mexicans connect to the network."
This is what the parties are proposing. Let everyone draw their conclusions.
Report by the Institute of Telecommunications Law.
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