Media Literacy in Mexico : Towards a critical pluralist approach

Abstract: The primary purpose of this thesis is to address the present status of the media system in Mexico in order to determine how media literacy can contribute to matters of civic participation and the democratization of media. The research uses qualitative interviews as a primary method with expert media participants or observers, supplemented with policy, economic and political analysis of the Mexican media system. The research identifies that there is a pivotal media scenario driven by the constitutional telecom reform in 2014 in which the introduction of a regulatory frame guided by democratic principles is being challenged by the longstanding media structures. The research shows that the historical relationship between the political and media elites has been a determinant factor in the formation of a concentrated scenario, driven forward by the general neoliberal economic policies that came into effect in the late 80’s. At this conjuncture the thesis argues that the highly concentrated and privatized media system has framed people only as consumers, diluting their role as citizens into a form of ‘spectral participation’ in media policymaking. The second facet of the thesis discusses the construct of media literacy positioned within the context of Mexico in order to engage with matters relevant to this setting. The research also presents the recent adoption of media literacy by scholars and advocates in Mexico as part of a wider media literacy movement in Latin America promoted by organizations such as UNESCO, and within this frame examines the implications of a civic-oriented media literacy approach that promotes active participation in media policymaking. This results in a normative model of media literacy underpinned by agonistic democratic principles sensitive to the needs and struggles in Mexico.