Translated by Mariana Silva
According to analysts, a year after its birth, the demands of #YoSoy132 student movement against then presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto were taken up in recent legislative reforms.
The #Yosoy132 [#Iam132] movement, which started a year ago at a protest in Iberoamerican University (Ibero) against Enrique Peña Nieto, managed to find its way onto the national agenda and some of their demands have been included in recent reforms, analysts said to CNNMexico.
“If this movement had not started on May 11, Peña Nieta would have probably won the election with around 50% of votes and the PRI party would have acquired absolute majorities in both chambers of Congress. If this had happened, there would not be a need to create the Mexico Pact with the opposition," stated Agustín Basave, director of post graduate education at Iberoamerican University.The #Yosoy132 movement started as a group to support Ibero students, which protested on May 11 against the presidential PRI candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto.
Basave argues that the Pact for México –an agreement signed between the government and the opposition to promote 95 reforms– is in some way a product of #Yosoy132.
Jorge Rocha, an expert in social issues and head of the masters in Politics and Public Management from the University ITESO [Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Guadalajara], said that the movement was able to introduce the issue of media democratization -one of their major goals- in the national agenda,
“which in some way was included in the telecommunications law that has recently been approved.”He added that one of their most important achievements was to put under the spotlight the urgency of a political reform for Mexico and that now thousands of young people are interested in the politic affairs of the country.
“There are people that have been touched by the movement and who now have a critical perspective, contrary to the general belief that young people are apathetic towards these issues," Rocha said.The students who demonstrated a year ago in Ibero were accused by the PRI party of being "thugs and hired agitators." In order to show that their demonstration was genuine and truly carried out by students, a group of 131 young people recorded an 11 minute video with their credentials in hand, which was later posted on YouTube. That video has more than a million views to this day.
The weekend after the demonstration, Rodrigo Serrano , an Ibero student, gathered and edited the testimonies from all 131 people. “These are the ones that we were able to get until Sunday night." The video was uploaded early the next day.
After seeing the video, students from other public and private universities like Monterrey Tech, ITAM [Autonomous Institute of Technology of Mexico] and UNAM [National Autonomous University of Mexico] among others, said to CNNMéxico that seeing those Ibero students being so brave encouraged them to show support to the cause.
That was the beginning of a social media call for a demonstration that went from the Iberoamerican University to the headquarters of Televisa in the Santa Fe section of Mexico City. The main demand was to have fair coverage during the presidential campaign. The young students believed that Peña Nieto was a candidate imposed and supported by the TV network.
During the protest, the motto #Yosoy132 arose to name the movement, which the analysts think "shook-up" the presidential elections in 2012.
During the 2 months of the campaign the movement spread through other states and people including students, housewives, professionals, employees, intellectuals and artists supported the demonstrations all over the country against Peña Nieto, and protested in front of the Televisa headquarters. In April 2012, the polls gave Peña Nieto 48% of the votes. After the protests, he was still leading the polls but with 10 points less than when the campaign began.
Analysts such as Sabino Bastidas Colinas have a contrary opinion, seeing #YoSoy132 as
"an isolated and situational movement, whose name has been used by young, left wing groups."Bastidas Colinas, who is also part of the Center for Development Research ( Cidac), warns that although the movement had an important impact in lowering the preferential numbers for the PRI candidates "a few points" and therefore prevented them from having an absolute majority in the Senate,
"the movement was not homogeneous and they did not continue working on their cause and their proposals."Where Does The Movement Stands Today
Agustin Basave thinks that the movement has transcended and even though they are no longer "in the streets as at the beginning", their work has continued in social networks and the internet, which are spaces where the movement was born and developed.
“#Yosoy132 has made people see that in Mexico there is a possibility for people who are not happy about a given situation in the country to get together and demand a change. That is a very positive outcome, which had not been seen for many years in this country," Basave said.The challenge of this movement was to keep "organized and out in the streets," academic Jorge Rocha stated a year ago to CNNMexico. Now he admits this did not end up happening. However, he points out that the outcomes of #YoSoy132 are positive and still present.
"The movement has taken a step aside from the public spotlight, but it is still working and has produced positive outcomes throughout the country." he said.Bastidas Colinas agrees with the rest of the analysts regarding the fact that some of the positive outcomes of this groups were to boost the issue of media democratization and to generate awareness among voters as regards what it meant to vote for the PRI party.
A movement for hope
Basave and Rocha agree that the #YoSoy132 was a movement for hope.
For Rocha, the Zapatistas Army for National Liberation was the last movement prior the #YoSoy132 that arose a similar sympathy around the country, and a "sense of hope" among people.
"This country is in need and cries out for a deep transformation, and these young people have made us, me included, have hope that a deep change can happen," Basave stated.Spanish original