Programa diario by EMILIANO AGUILAR DE LA CRUZ

HE FIRST PARADIGM FOR ORGANIZING DEBATES

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PRESIDENTIAL IN MEXICO (1994-2012)

In Mexico, the culture of debates between presidential candidates is related.
tively recent. And just like the process of transition to democracy,
The organization of presidential debates in our country evolved from
gradually, and transferring decisions from the orbit of political parties
within the jurisdiction of the electoral authority. For this, it was necessary
exclude election contenders from more and more areas of the
electoral organization, to leave more decisions in the hands of the authority
electoral, through legislative changes that guarantee certainty and impartiality.
ity in decision making.
It is clear that the debates organized from 1994 to 2012 distinguished themselves
because they were events organized in the style of the contenders. The date
of its celebration, the dynamics that the debates would follow, the questions of the
moderation and even production details (takes, timing of inter-
ventions and camera shots) were determined based on the interests
of the parties and their candidates. Naturally for political parties, and
more for those best positioned, the aim was to ensure that the debate did not harm
the image that the contenders had already gained in public opinion. Of
there were controlled media spaces, in which each candidate
He had his written messages for each topic or question; practically, without
interaction with the rest of the participants in the debate.

1994 and the first debates between presidential candidates

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The first televised debate between presidential candidates dates back to
to the 1994 election. The public appearance of the Zapatista Army of Freedom
National ration on January 1 and the murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio, candidate
presidential data from the PRI on March 23, framed the atmosphere of everything
the electoral process. These events caused the political parties
DR Q 2022.


This work is part of the collection of the Virtual Legal Library of the Legal Research Institute of the
www.juridicas.unam.mx
ps://biblio.juridicas.unam.mx/bjv
THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES IN MEXICO

Costa Ricans agreed to promote a series of commitments that would be implemented
in reforms and actions developed at three levels: legal, governmental
and in the agreements of the General Council of the IFE itself.4 These commitments
led a few months later to an emergency reform that allowed
to face the presidential elections in the turbulent environment that
had generated that year.

The "request" debates of 2000 and 2006

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With the 1996 reform, the only progress made in terms of debates
is that the IFE was given the possibility of organizing debates between candidates
presidential texts and contribute to their dissemination. In fact, article 190 in
its paragraph 6 stated that "The Institute, at the request of the political parties and
presidential candidates who so decide, will organize public debates
and will support its dissemination" (emphasis added).6 This is how clear and marginal the information was.
intervention of the electoral authority in matters of debates.
According to this text, it is very important to point out the following aspects:
that emerge from article 190 of the 1996 Cofipe. Firstly,
Debates would be organized if requested by the parties and their candidates. That
implies not only the power of the contenders to want or not to debate, but also
that it was implicitly necessary for the candidates to already be designated
cough. Secondly, the responsibility of the electoral authority was solely
ly support dissemination (that is, the IFE did not have the responsibility of
such debates). Certainly the IFE was not a "unwelcome guest",
as happened in 1994; but the Institute was not given the responsibility
ity of the organization and production of the debates. They were the parties and the
candidates who decided, and the radio and television industry determined
They would decide, if applicable, whether they wanted to participate or not. These features marked
important way the way the debates were conceived in Mexico
of the first transition.
In this way, two debates were held in the 2000 election. To di-
conference of 1994, the first of them was convened jointly in-
between the IFE and the CIRT, and was held on April 25 of that year. It was about the
first live televised confrontation, in the organization of which he participated

The 2012 debate and the contributions of Sergio Garcia Ramírez

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Unlike what had happened from 1994 to 2006, years in which
The electoral authority participated in a collateral and even marginal way,
In 2012, the IFE was responsible for organizing the debates between can-


information to the presidency and the dissemination was guaranteed with the provisions
nes included in the renewed Cofipe.
It could not be different, as one of the great transversal objectives
results of the 2007-2008 electoral reform was to contribute to equity in
all areas of the electoral contests, and one of the pieces of the
most important constitutional engineering of that reform was the new model
of political communication. In this context, with the 2007-2008 reform,
The legislators had acknowledged receipt of both the exclusion and the
some contenders suffered in the debates, such as the prominence
of the CIRT and the marginalization of the electoral authority in said events
media. Hence, in the 2008 Cofipe the par-
participation of the electoral authority in the organization, establishment
of deadlines and dissemination of these meetings between presidential candidates in
radio space.

The presidential debates in the 2014 reformThe presidential debates in the 2014 reform

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The 2014 electoral reform gave rise to a series of additional provisions
tional to those already provided for in the 2008 Cofipe aimed at equity and
that the debate between contenders effectively contributes to the deliberation
democratic tion. Among the new features of the new legislation, in the article
218 of the Legipe it is worth mentioning the following:

1) It was established that there would be two mandatory debates.
2) That it would be the General Council who would define the rules, dates and sec-
des, respecting the principle of equity.
That the obligatory debates would be broadcast across the stations.
radio and television stations of public use concessionaires, and that
commercial dealers should transmit them at least
in one of his signs.
4) That the transmission of the debates would be free, complete and without
experience alteration of any of its contents.7

Clearly the Legipe set the tone for the elected authorities to
rales assumed control of the organization of the debates; by giving them a
mandatory nature for registered candidates, underlined the importance
It was important for the electorate to know the people who were looking for the
support at the polls, and clarified in a special way the obligation to
the dealers to transmit them and without modifications.a

Background and preparations for the presidential debates in the INE era

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The first experience of the INE in the organization of political debates It took place within the framework of the organization of the extraordinary election to the gubernatorial governorate of the state of Colima that, by mandate of the TEPJE, corresponds to He gave the INE the exclusive organization. On January 10, 2016, from the headquarters of the University of Colima, the candidates for governor registered two participated in a debate organized by the Institute and moderated by Leonardo Curzio. Despite the short time that the INE had to organize the extraordinary electoral process as a whole (including the debate between gubernatorial candidates), in its format they were incorporated as novelty the presentation of comments and questions from citizens given before each of the three thematic blocks in which we are structured the exercise; However, a rigid scheme continued to prevail which even implied that some of the contenders read their interventions. initial nes in each of the mentioned blocks. This experience showed the importance of making the debate format more flexible and innovating, if the contrast between presidential candidates was wanted to contribute to the right to information and the exercise of free informed voting in the 2018 classes.

Background and preparations for the presidential debates in the INE era

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The second debate and citizen participation at the UABC headquarters

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For the second debate, Yuriria was selected as moderators. Sierra y León Krauze, and took place on Sunday, May 20, 2018 in the gymnasium of the Tijuana campus of the Autonomous University of Baja California. lifornia (UABJ); a space located just a kilometer and a half from Lo- mas Taurinas, where Luis Donaldo Colosio was murdered 24 years before during a proselytizing act of his electoral campaign. The symbolism of place was evident: it was practically the same place where almost A quarter of a century earlier, violence had been present in an election. tion and now democracy was recreated in an unprecedented exercise, where the candidates to occupy the presidency of the Republic confronted each other peacefully and respectfully and interacted with the citizens present in pursuit of their vote. The distinctive feature of this second debate was that the set included public that would participate with questions to the candidates, a fact that happened for the first time in Mexico, and took as reference the structure of the debates held in the United States under the format known as Town Debate Hall. The audience consisted of 42 people, made up of a random and representative sample of the population of Tijuana, and an attempt was made respect the principle of gender parity. All selected people They must have met the following characteristics: not having a defined vote for the July 1 elections, be registered on the nominal list of elec- tors and have a high probability of going to vote in the next elections.

"El Candigato Morris" (Morris the Cat) - 2013 Debate

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In the 2013 gubernatorial debate for the state of Veracruz, a fictional character named Morris, a cat, was humorously registered as a candidate by a group of citizens to protest the quality of actual candidates. Morris's inclusion led to a series of satirical responses during the debate. The moderators asked serious questions about security, economy, and education, but the candidates were forced to address the cat's candidacy, often resulting in humorous and absurd moments. Despite the humorous tone, Morris's inclusion highlighted the frustration of many Mexican citizens with the political system and the perceived lack of viable options among traditional candidates.

"Señor presidente, yo no soy su empleado" (Mr. President, I am not your employee) - 2000 Debate:

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In a memorable moment during the 2000 presidential debate, candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, running for the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), challenged the incumbent president, Ernesto Zedillo, who was supporting his party's candidate, Francisco Labastida. When Zedillo criticized Cárdenas's administration as the former mayor of Mexico City, Cárdenas retorted with the now-famous line: "Señor presidente, yo no soy su empleado" ("Mr. President, I am not your employee"). This phrase resonated with many voters as a symbol of defiance against the ruling party's authority and highlighted the tension between the opposition and the incumbent government during the election campaign.