The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has asked the Mexican Supreme Court to respect the right of citizens to express their electoral opinions through the media.
IAPA’s request refers to a court challenge initiated by a group of academics and public figures against a 2007 constitutional amendment that gives the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) the exclusive right to buy electoral advertising on radio and TV, EFE explains.
The Supreme Court is currently deadlocked on whether the amendment can be challenged, but IAPA says that the tie should be broken once a court vacancy is filled.
Courts in the hemisphere have not always been kind to free speech during elections. During Brazil’s October 2010 elections, there were more than a dozen court cases that promoted electoral censorship, as shown in this Knight Center map.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
