Yo Soy 132
Part of the Mexican general election, 2012, Impact of the Arab Spring
Poster stating #YoSoy132 against EPN:its not hate nor intolerance against his name, but rather being full of indignation as to what he represents
Date15 May 2012 (2012-05-15)  — ongoing
Location
Caused by
Goals
Methods
Resulted in
  • National broadcast of second presidential debate
  • Hosting a third debate between three of the four candidates

Yo Soy 132 is a social movement composed for the most part of Mexican university students from private and public universities, residents of Mexico, and supporters from 50 cities around the world.[1] It began as opposition to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Peña Nieto and the Mexican media's allegedly biased coverage of the 2012 general election.[2] The name Yo Soy 132, Spanish for "I Am 132", originated in an expression of solidarity with the protest's initiators.The phrase drew inspiration from the Occupy movement and the Spanish 15-M movement.[3][4][5] The protest movement was self-claimed as the "Mexican spring" (an allusion to the Arab Spring) by its first spokespersons,[6] and as the "Mexican occupy movement" in the international press.[7]

Origins

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Mexican President Peña Nieto Yo Soy 132.

On May 11, 2012, then Institutional Revolutionary Party Mexican Presidential Candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, visited the Ibero-American University to present his political platform to the students as part of the Buen Ciudadano Ibero[8]forum. At the end of his discussion, he was asked by a group of students a question regarding the 2006 civil unrest in San Salvador Atenco,in which then-governor of the State of Mexico Peña Nieto called in state police to break up a protest by local residents, with two protestors being killed.[9]. His response was met with applause by his supporters, but was met with slogans against his campaign from students who disliked his response.[10]

Video of the event was recorded by various students and uploaded onto social media, but major Mexican television channels and national newspapers reported that the protest were not by students of the university.[11]This angered many of the Ibero-American University students, prompting 131 of them to publish a video on YouTube identifying themselves by their University ID card.[12] The video went viral, and protests spread across various campuses. People showed their support of the 131 students' message by stating, mainly on Twitter, that they were the 132nd student—"I am 132"— thus giving birth to the Yo Soy 132 movement.

Protests

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Yo Soy 132 protest in Mexico City on May 19, 2012
Protest in Monumento a la Patria; Mérida, Yucatán
 
Yo Soy 132 protest in Mexico City on June 10, 2012

Since the beginning of the movement, there have been tactics used, such as marching without being on the street and disrupting traffic, silent marches, concerts, and encouraging political participation in elections.{citation needed} Rallies and marches havehappened in the capitol, Mexico City, and also in various states in Mexico such as Campeche, Durango, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, Yucatán, Guerrero, Jalisco, Monterrey, Querétaro, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Estado de México, Puebla, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Baja California y Tabasco[13]

Outside of Mexico, various individuals have created their own groups of solidarity and in support of the movement, in cities such as Munich, Madrid, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Geneva, Stuttgart, Calgary, Euskadi, Melbourne, New York, Barcelona, Manchester, Quebec, Frankfurt, Zurich, Buenos Aires, Brussels, Vancouver, Montreal, Bologna and Zagreb[14]

Goals

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On June 5, 2012, students gathered in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the country's largest public university, and agreed that the movement should aspire to go beyond the general election and become a national force.[15]

General Principles

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On August 10, 2012, YoSoy132 International group published a translation of the General Principles [16][17][18]

"We declare our movement as":[19]

  • nonpartisan-understood as having the absence of organic links with any political party-
  • peaceful- understood as the absolute rejection to the use or expression of violence as a means to achieve our objectives-,
  • student based- understood as the foundation of our movement and a catalyst for social change-,
  • secular- understood as having our movement totally unrelated to any faith doctrine and/or religious institution -,
  • plural- understood by the inclusion of all individuals in any place of the country who share the principles and boundaries contained herein, recognizing the bonds of shared solidarity and unity in the struggle along with other movements without recognizing the movement as a substitute-,
  • of social character- understanding this as the guideline to vindicate our society as the main beneficiary of the actions taken by the movement-,
  • political in nature- because the movement is interested in all public affairs and aims to create spaces that will enable more active citizen participation without limiting this responsibility to the existing so-called political class that claims to be the only interpreter of the country’s political affairs-,
  • of a humanistic character-understanding this as the search for ways to reassess and develop to the fullest the potential of all people, not only those focused towards the massive consumption of consumer goods, therefore promoting the ethical nature of humankind-,
  • autonomous- because it recognizes and values the organization and internal decisions within each university as their free and democratic expressions-,
  • committed and responsible- understanding the unique courage of building something for our country and recognizing the consequences of our conviction assumed in a shared way among its members-,
  • democratic – understanding this as the attempt of creation and decision making in a community context, starting with an equitable and symmetrical dialogue in the access of information, advocating for a participatory democracy that goes beyond the representative model we now have, and aiming towards the improvement of our country's culture.

The movement successfully demanded that the second Mexican presidential debate be broadcasted nationally. It also proposed a third debate organized by members of the Yo Soy 132 movement that was held without the presence of Enrique Peña Nieto, who rejected the invitation and said it lacked conditions of impartiality.[8][9]

Manifesto

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On May 23, 2012, the movement released its manifesto. An excerpt from it states:

"First – we are a nonpartisan movement of citizens. As such, we do not express support of any candidate or political party, but rather respect the plurality and diversity of this movement's participants. Our wishes and demands are centered on the defense of Mexicans' freedom of expression and their right for information, in that these two elements are essential to forming an aware and participating citizenry. For the same reasons, we support informed and well-thought out voting. We believe that under the present political circumstances, abstaining or making a null vote is ineffective in promoting the edification of our democracy. We are a movement committed to the country's democratization, and as such, we hold that a necessary condition for this goal is the democratization of the media. This commitment derives from the current state of the national press, and from the concentration of the media outlets in few hands".

"Second – YoSoy132 is an inclusive movement which does not represent one single university. Its representation depends only on the persons who join this cause and form connections among the university committees".[15]

Dissenting groups

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Rodrigo Ocampo Generacion MX spokesperson

On June 11, 2012, a group of protesters who named themselves GeneraciónMX claimed they were part of Yo Soy 132 and announced their departure, claiming that they perceived that the movement favored the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution and its candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador.[20] Through a YouTube video titled I am no longer 132, its stated goals being democratization of the media, political reform, environmental protection, and calling politicians' attention to the agenda of Mexican youth.[20] Social network users and hacktivist group Anonymous have argued that GeneraciónMX and its members are linked to the PRI.[21][22]

On June 12, 2012, Rodrigo Ocampo, spokesperson of GenerationMX, reiterated in a press conference that #yosoy132 had lost its course and had been hijacked by leftist parties. He denied ties with the PRI party and his current employer COPARMEX, claiming his involvement was done on his free time. He declared that GenerationMX had about 17 members, many of whom had received anonymous threats demanding them to take their YouTube videos off-line and that other members decided not to come forward or comment on the allegations of leftist involvement for fear of further threats.[23]

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Yo Soy 132 has been compared to the Arab Spring movement that occurred in the Arab world, as well as the Occupy movement. [24] This is because all three movements have used Social media as a way to communicate and organize, as well as using civil resistance. The Occupy Wall Street movement acknowledged these similarities by writing a post on their website expressing their solidarity with Yo soy 132. [25] The movements also promote a leaderless structure, in which no one person is the leader as well as having multiple demands[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ""#YoSoy132 presume contar con 52 asambleas internacionales"". August 1, 2012.
  2. ^ "Youth protest former Mexican ruling party's rise". Buenos Aires Herald. Editorial Amfin S.A. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  3. ^ Quesada, Juan Diego (May 27, 2012). "Que nadie cierre las libretas: Del 15-M a Yo Soy 132 solo hay nueve mil kilómetros". Animal Político. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  4. ^ Sotillos, Alberto (June 13, 2012). "#YoSoy132: el 15M llega a México" (in Spanish). Diario Progresista. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  5. ^ "#YoSoy132: Mexican Elections, Media, and Immigration". The Huffington Post. AOL. June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  6. ^ "Social media fuel Mexican youth protests - CNN". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System. May 24, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  7. ^ Hernandez, Rigoberto (June 7, 2012). ""Mexican Spring" Comes to San Francisco". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  8. ^ "¿Y qué dijo Peña Nieto en la Ibero?". CNN Expansión. May 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ Zapata, Belén (June 4, 2012). "Atenco, el tema que 'encendió' a la Ibero y originó #YoSoy132". CNNMéxico (in Spanish). Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  10. ^ Zapata, Belén. "La visita de Peña Nieto, motivo de abucheos de estudiantes en la Ibero" (in español). CNN México. Retrieved June 2 2012. Al término de su discurso, los estudiantes permanecieron aglomerados a las afueras del auditorio en espera de la salida del abanderado del PRI y a gritarle "¡Fuera! ¡Fuera!" y "¡Asesino!" {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  11. ^ Organización Editorial Mexicana (May 11, 2012). "Intentan boicotear en la Ibero a Peña Nieto" (in español). El Sol de México. Retrieved June 2 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  12. ^ "131 Alumnos de la Ibero responden". YouTube. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  13. ^ "Videos de Solidaridad Nacional". Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  14. ^ "Videos de solidaridad Internacional". Retrieved November 9,2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ a b ""Yo soy 132": Declaratoria y pliego petitorio" (in Spanish). Animal Político. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  16. ^ "Conferencia de Prensa de la Asamblea General 18 de junio de 2012". Retrieved 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. ^ "Conferencia de prensa de la asamblea general". Retrieved 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "Principios Generales del Movimiento". Retrieved 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ "General Principles, english translation by YoSoy132International group" (PDF). August 10.
  20. ^ a b Ascensión, Arturo (June 11, 2012). "Jóvenes rompen con #YoSoy132 y forman el grupo GeneraciónMX". CNNMéxico. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  21. ^ Lucas, Nicolás (June 12, 2012). "Denuncian que #GeneracionMx es cercano al PRI y Coparmex". El Financiero (in Spanish). El Financiero Comercial S.A. de C.V. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  22. ^ Milenio TV. Grupo Multimedios (June 12, 2012). "Integrante de #GeneraciónMX también aparece en video de apoyo a EPN" (in Spanish). YouTube. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  23. ^ Rea, Daniela (12 de junio de 2012). "E-mail Presentan en solitario a #GeneraciónMX" (in Spanish). Terra News. Retrieved 2012-06-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Kilkenny, Allison (May 29,2012). "Student Movement Dubbed the 'Mexican Spring'". The Nation. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "#TodosSomos132:Solidarity with the Mexican Spring". May 25, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  26. ^ Look, Carolyn (December 26, 2012). "YoSoy132 and Contemporary Uprisings:What are Social Movements doing wrong". Retrieved November 9,2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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Category:2012 in Mexico Category:2012 protests Category:Politics of Mexico Category:Student political organizations Category:Protests in Mexico * Category:Student protests in Mexico