President Claudia Sheinbaum said a public consultation is currently underway to define guidelines for the enforcement of the audience defender role [1].
This process is critical because it determines how radio and television companies must distinguish between news, opinions, and advertising to protect viewers and listeners [3, 4].
Speaking during the morning press conference in Mexico City, Sheinbaum addressed misconceptions regarding the scope of the current public review. She said that the consultation does not involve deciding whether the audience defender position should exist or be eliminated [1, 2].
"The public consultation currently open corresponds to the guidelines to enforce that provision and not to the creation or elimination of the figure," Sheinbaum said [1].
Under the existing framework, every media company is obligated to have an audience defender to safeguard the rights of the public [3]. The current effort aims to refine the rules that make this requirement functional in practice.
Sheinbaum said that the administration has received feedback from various sectors regarding these protections. She said the government remains open to making changes to the guidelines based on these observations [2].
Addressing concerns that these regulations could lead to government overreach, Sheinbaum denied that the measures constitute a crackdown on speech. She said the new normativa seeks only to ensure that audiences can clearly identify the nature of the content they consume [3].
"The rights of the audiences are not censorship; the new normativa seeks to distinguish advertising, news, and opinions," Sheinbaum said [3].
Councilor Luisa María will be responsible for evaluating the observations submitted by the CIR as part of the regulatory process [1].
“"The rights of the audiences are not censorship; the new normativa seeks to distinguish advertising, news, and opinions."”
The clarification suggests the Mexican government is moving toward a more rigid enforcement of media transparency. By focusing on the 'how' rather than the 'if' of the audience defender role, the administration is signaling that the existence of these ombudsmen is non-negotiable, shifting the debate toward the specific technical boundaries between editorial content and paid promotion.
