The New Mexican Student Movement in Context

As I write controversy over the recent Mexican elections (2012) are rumbling on. Amid allegations of fraud, the PRI has been declared winners and are returning to power. The reasons for this are complicated, support for them varies across the country and the win was far from resounding.[i] It was a bitterly fought election and one from which a new student movement has emerged. As well as the typical forms of protest, such as mass gatherings this group has used websites, social networking, such as Twitter and Facebook, and shared videos through YouTube for their campaign against the election of Enrique Peña Nieto. It started as a protest against an appearance at the Universidad Iberoaméricana in Mexico City by Peña Nieto as part of his election campaign. They were protesting to draw attention to his responsibility for a violent confrontation in 2006 in San Salvador Atenco when he was governor of the state of Atenco. The major media outlets have been accused of misinformation (and here), some of which was directed at the students immediately after their protest. It was suggested that the students were outsiders brought in by the opposition to damage Peña Nieto’s campaign. In response, the students made videos that they posted online showing their student ID cards. This culminated in one saying “yo soy 132” [I am (student) 132], from whence came the name.

They have continued their on and offline campaign against Peña Nieto, right up to the count and beyond. It is yet to be seen where they will take the movement after he is sworn in. These student protests bear comparison with those in 1968. Some of the tactics are the same (for example, mass mobilisations, creating posters, building solidarity networks), whilst others are distinct. This is not just as a result of their use of the Internet as a tool for connecting with others, it is also how the generic forms of YouTube videos determines what they put up (Snickars and Vonderau, 2009). That is, they are largely talking head confessional films, are usually three to five minutes long and often accompanied by music. Also, unlike the students in 1968, whose access to cameras was determined by the availability of equipment from the then recently-founded film school. Now, cameras are cheap and readily obtainable. Most phones have at least passable in-built recording facilities and many can be of a very high quality. They are portable and editing equipment is easily available, while there are no major obstacles to distribution, it is dependent on registration with the site and access to the Internet. While misinformation, false rumours, and hacking of the site has taken place, campaigns to counter these have also been mounted quickly. The de-centralisation of the control of the means of distribution can be over-stated, especially with widespread suggestions of the corrupt use of the traditional media in the election, however, the Internet has proved to be successful mode of circulating information and building support for the students. These are all conditions that did not exist in 1968.

The recent elections, with both the return to power of the PRI and the emergence of a radical student movement, connect two of the conflicts under consideration in new and unexpected ways. The students’ use of the Internet and how they have addressed not only a national audience, but also a transnational network of formal and informal media had its precursor in the Zapatistas. The Zapatistas’ use of the tools available to connect with sympathetic readers and activists across the globe and to both tap into existing movements and create new solidarity groups has meant that attention has been paid to them from Mexican and non-Mexican filmmakers. It is yet to be seen whether feature films will be made of the YoSoy132 movement and what modes or genres their representation will conform to.  However, as with every major political change in Mexico, the current dramatic shift back to a party that dominated the political landscape for more than seventy years can only result in a new direction for filmmakers. As a consequence of the changes in technology, these may take on new forms, or they find use new ways to tap into the long history of films of political conflict in Mexico.