Cracks form in Mexico's student movement

Jun 15

Web Only

Cracks form in Mexico's student movement

Students break away from the popular #YoSoy132 campaign, alleging political bias.

Image by Flickr user Nahual-Jorge Mexicano (Creative Commons)

A budding student protest movement is gaining momentum and support ahead of Mexico’s presidential election on July 1.

The movement, known as "Yo Soy 132", Spanish for “I Am 132”, was formed to oppose presidential candidate and front-runner Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Yo Soy 132 is calling for the democratisation of the Mexican government and an unbiased media, specifically the television networks Televisa and TV Azteca, which they accuse of being biased towards Peña Nieto.

Yo Soy 132 has enjoyed widespread support from young university students around the country, with tens of thousands coming out to rallies and protests. But on June 11, a group calling themselves GeneraciónMX branched out from Yo Soy 132, claiming the original movement was partial towards leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his Party of the Democratic Revolution.

Here are some highlights from around the web.

View the story "Cracks form in Mexico's student movement" on StorifyCracks form in Mexico's student movementStudents break away from the popular #YoSoy132 campaign, alleging political bias.Storified by The Stream · Thu, Jun 14 2012 17:56:02undefinedTwimg

Although the PRI has not occupied the presidency for the past 12 years, Mexicans still have bitter memories from PRI's nearly seven decade rule from 1929 to 2000. Many associate the PRI withauthoritarianism, repression and corruption. This photo from Sergio G. Morales shows protesters in Guadalajara, Jalisco:

Crowds of protesters gathered in front of Televisa, one of Mexico's top television networks, to protest against what they believe is biased coverage favoring Peña Nieto."Yo sí quiero a mi país | Yo no voto x el PRI" « #Yosoy132, afuera de Televisa http://lockerz.com/s/216882692Daniel GershensonSe encienden veladoras, antes d proyección video-duración 3mins #VigiliaTelevisa #Yosoy132 http://lockerz.com/s/216890919Daniel GershensonAnimalpolitico tweeted, "If the ground is shaking, it's #YoSoy132 that's marching!"“Si la tierra está temblando, ¡es el #YoSoy132 que está marchando!” -> http://bit.ly/LmF0eWanimalpoliticoA protester in front of Televisa carried a sign, reading "Televisa news, full of lies".A photo from @IzqMXIzqMXStudents at Ibero-American University (UIA) gathered on campus to condemn Peña Nieto and his candidacy when he came to speak on May 11. EPN en la iberovzqzgWhenPeña Nieto supporters and the media dismissed the UIA student protests as being staged by opposition candidate Obrador, 131 UIA students who attended the protests created a video showing their student IDs to verify the authenticity of the protests. 131 Alumnos de la Ibero respondenR3CR3OEpigmencio ibarra tweeted, "Thanks to the youth of #YoSoy132, I have hope. We will not go back to the authoritarian past."Y desde la experiencia les digo q, gracias a los jovenes #YoSoy132, yo tengo esperanza. No vamos a volver al pasado autoritario #SejodioEPNepigmenio ibarraThe cartoon below ridicules Peña Nieto by using a play on words with his name's similarity to piña, the Spanish word for pineapple. I Colosio You tweets, "Even the fruits don't want you Peña".Ni las frutas te quieren @EPN #YoSoy132 #ApestasPRI http://pic.twitter.com/yWuZqZwNI Colosio YouAl Jazeera hosted a Google+ debate on June 13, 2012, discussing the #YoSoy132 student movement:
Google+ Hangout: The #YoSoy132 student movement in Mexicoaljazeeraenglish

GeneraciónMX announced their split from Yo Soy 132 on June 11, stating their desire to remain nonpartisan. Their list of demands include political reform, democratisation of media, environmental protection, and prioritising youth issues.

Generación MXaristeguinoticiasSome have accused GeneraciónMX of supporting or having links to Peña Nieto's PRI party. Oscar Castilla tweets, "These are the students of #GeneraciónMX that support Peña Nieto".estos son los estudiantes de #generacionMX que apoyan a @EPN jajajajaja http://pic.twitter.com/JSMqaaawoscar castillaThe meme below has been circulating in criticism of GeneraciónMX. It reads, "You were a part of #132, but... you were persuaded by the Peña Nieto proposal and you left for GeneraciónMX. Wow, what a story!".undefinedTwimg

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