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No one
will take advantage of the voice of the youth.
Never again
Together
we are much more
than 131.
The truth
will liberate us.
[#WeAreMoreThan131]
We just saw a segment of a video done by 131 students from the Iberoamericana University
in Mexico, which initiated the beginning of a youth movement of enormous consequences.
Is it similar to the 'Mexican Spring'. It already has its own name: 'I am 132'.
Right now we will find out why.
It is a movement against the PRI presidential candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto.
Against the traditional politicians and against the media.
With us today are two students from Mexico City, Carlos Cario from the
National Autonomous University of Mexico and José Miguel Barberena from the Iberoamericana who is one
of the 131 students who made this video. Both of you, thank you for being here with us.
José Miguel, let me start with you. Why the movement against Peña Nieto?
Why throw him out of the Ibero? Why against him?
Well, Peña Nieto personifies this...that lack of democracy which exists in the media.
It...it is a union which exists really between Televisa and the PRI party which obviously is not,
is not really articulated because well, we are not fools and there would be way to attack from that side.
And, well, it is the lack of comm...of democratization in the media. There are no, there are no
other opinions. Only a very long chain that, well, can do with the
mexican public opinion what it wants and, well, that is not fair. We mexicans have
the right to, well, to know, to inform ourselves and from there to think about our vote and to vote
for what we really want and not to vote because, because it's trendy.
Carlos Cario, why, why against two TV networks in particular?
Well, these two networks here in our country represent only what it is said in the
traditional media, particularly on television. They manage
public opinion, acting in self interest. That is why we, that is why we are
fighting beyond what we have against them, is for the democratization of the media.
Maybe they, to a certain point, have a legitimate right to express their interests,
but they do it in a vetoed manner. In other words, they are not open, they don't clarify,
they are not showing who they are, nor what their interests are. What interests us is that there be
diversity of opinions in a sphere of competitiveness where, not only we will have
what Televisa says and what TV Azteca says which, broadly speaking, is practically the same thing,
but also to be able to change the TV channel and there will be another television network, two, three, four,
even five. The necessary amount for us Mexicans - the public opinion,
what we see in the traditional media - to have a different perspective
from which to compare. A different opinion from what we are seeing presently. This is
also a sphere of objectivity. Not a utopian objectivity, but in this sphere of
competitiveness in which we can appreciate and see different perspectives
in this harmful media.
[Ramos] José Miguel, the rector of the Iberoamericana University where you study just
said that there are threats against some of the students who made this video.
What do you know about these threats and what kind of threats are they? How did they arrive?
Well, many of these threats are via social networks, via Facebook and Twitter and
really you can't verify if these, these threats are real,
but there are classmates who are very afraid, who have removed their online profiles
to protect themselves. [Ramos] Afraid of what? [Barberena] Afraid that there would be a
retaliation. Afraid that, well, they will harm their families. Actually, among, among my close
friends I don't, I don't know of anyone who has been threatened or, at least, he keeps it a secret
to be discreet but, but there are a few classmates who are very afraid and, and.
well, this battle is sometimes complicated because, well, their fear is greater than,
than the desire to change the country.
[Ramos] Ca...Carlos in these elections of 2012, for the first time the social networks
have had a fundamental role. This movement, this Mexican Spring, like many
call it, will it be a movement which will last until the 1st of July, election day,
or will it be something like 1968 which lasted a very long time? How do you two see it?
What is the future of this movement, Carlos?
Well, right now the idea is that obviously we can see that we are
going through the elections and these are assessments which will define the country's future
not only for the next 6 years, regardless of who wins.
They are different projects of the country which are discovered, which are compared. So, in this
sense, we know that it can't just stay there. We as a movement of students,
know that the, the national emergency in which we actually live, in which we presently
live in, requires a permanent movement, a permanent establishment,
permanent work, permanent mobilization. Not only to take to the streets,
but to transcend the scope of the proposals of the informative brigades. So,
the perspective of the movement is not, not to put an expiration date. Not to finish on
the 1st of July, on the contrary. After the 1st of July, after the elections, well,
we want to open the way and continue pushing or defending the country,
regardless of who wins.
[Ramos] José Miguel, explain to us the apparent difference between the group
of the 131 students - which you are part of that sent this video and has really
revolutionized the social networks in Mexico - and the movement called 'I am 132'.
Is there any difference or are the the same?
Well, we are practically sibling. '131' is an answer to all of those people who
defamed us after Peña Nieto's visit to the Ibero. They called us ''Acarreados',
'Porros' and other things which were not authentic instruments. And, well, it is our response.
We were students expressing ourselves freely and, well, they wanted to deny us our liberty
or change things. So, we '131' sent a response via social networking
which....forms our...our means of communication. And we have had much,
much impact. And, after that, the citizens of Mexico supported
us and formed this citizen-led effort which is called 'I Am 132'
which supports us and sets out to open the media, so there will be more sources for everyone
So, we are 'We Are More Than 131', we are part of
'I Am 132' , but '131' is specific to the network of students of the Ibero.
[Ramos] Carlos, I have only a few seconds. What is next? More marches and manifestations?
What is the next big event?
OK, well look, we, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, on Saturday
at 1 p.m. at Las Islas, will be attending a rally. Because now the
aim is to confirm each committee in each of the universities to start strengthening
and channel this. The idea is to transcend the rally so they won't be only manifests
of our grievances, but to transcend the scope of the proposal, as I mentioned before.
What we want now is not only to complain about what is happening, but
to add to it so it will happen. Then, we will organize informative brigades
and take to the streets. There is a lot of people who, even though the Internet has transformed
into the great engine of democracy, we believe that...there are people in this country
who do not have access to these means yet. So, those places are the ones one needs to go to,
where one has to arrive and take to the streets but with a sense to start informing now.
[Ramos] Carlos Cario, José Miguel Barberena, thank you for being with us.
From the movement 'I am 132' former student of the Iberoamericana University. Thank you
for talking to us.