Monday, December 23, 2024

Tourism video under fire for content promoting AMLO, Morena party

A government tourism video that was criticized as propaganda for the ruling Morena party has been withdrawn after President LĆ³pez Obrador said it provided fodder for criticism of his administration.

The Secretariat of Tourism (Sectur) released a one-and-a-half-minute video whose ostensible purpose was to promote tourism in Mexico and outlineĀ the new national tourism strategy.

However, the clip also criticizes previous governments and features the Morena logo and footage of LĆ³pez Obrador at political rallies, celebrating his July 1 election victory and being sworn in as president.

ā€œOn December 1, a new era in the history of our country began, one which entails a transformation of national public life,ā€ the videoā€™s narrator says.

ā€œ. . . This transformation is based on a republican vision in favor of transparency, austerity and rationalization of public resources and against burdens such as corruption and the duplicity of actions,ā€ the narrator continues.

The video was criticized in Congress, by past president Felipe CalderĆ³n on Twitter and by many other social media users including Mexican Employers Federation (Coparmex) chief Gustavo de Hoyos.

ā€œ. . . The official Sectur video, because of its ideological baggage, appears to be produced for a political party. Where was the tourism strategy? It’s a 40% fragment of the total time,ā€ de Hoyos wrote on Twitter.

Today, LĆ³pez Obrador said he had instructed Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco to remove the video from government websites and social media accounts.

ā€œIt doesnā€™t correspond to a democratic government, it only gives our opponents evidence to say: ā€˜See? Theyā€™re the same . . . [Morena] is a party of the state, itā€™s a government that supports a party. No, weā€™re not the same,ā€ he said.

Later today, Sectur announced it had withdrawn the video from circulation andĀ that the video was not an ā€œadvertising spot.ā€

In a statement, the secretariat said the video had aĀ ā€œspecific purpose,ā€ which was toĀ ā€œelucidate the presentation of the national tourism strategyā€ in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, on Sunday.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Financiero (sp)Ā 

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