After Torreón school attack, Sheinbaum presents decree on social media content for minors: Friday’s mañanera recapped

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🌀 Hurricane Simon forecast to make landfall near Jalisco and Colima this weekend: Citing the National Meteorological Service, Civil Protection chief Laura Velázquez said Simon, a Category 1 hurricane on Friday morning, could hit Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 3 or 4. She said the area of impact could be one of five Jalisco municipalities (Cihuatlán, La Huerta, Tomatlán, Cabo Corrientes or Puerto Vallarta) or Manzanillo, Colima. She urged residents to stay informed through official channels.
  • 📱 Government presents decree on “safe digital environments” for minors: Presidential legal adviser Luisa María Alcalde said the decree bars social media sites and other online platforms from displaying or recommending content to minors that generates or promotes hate speech, violent extremism, sexual exploitation or violence, suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, cyber-bullying and illegal conduct. The government announced the decree last Friday, a day after a fatal machete attack at a school in Torreón, Coahuila. Sheinbaum said the decree will be published in the official gazette next Tuesday or Wednesday after further legal review to ensure it doesn’t exceed the executive branch’s authority.
  • 🚨 Multiple inmates and a 2-year-old boy killed in Mazatlán prison fight: Sheinbaum said she was informed about Thursday’s shooting at El Castillo prison at Friday’s Security Cabinet meeting. Sixteen prisoners were injured, and two firearms were seized.

Why today’s mañanera matters

Federal officials spoke about a range of significant issues at President Sheinbaum’s Friday morning press conference, including a hurricane headed for Mexico’s Pacific coast and a new decree aimed at keeping kids safe online and decreasing the probability of young people perpetrating acts of violence.

The government announced that it would prepare such a decree last Friday, a day after a fatal machete attack at a school in Torreón, Coahuila. The attack — in which a vice principal was killed and four other people were injured — was allegedly perpetrated by 18-year-old twin brothers who formerly studied at the Number 13 Secondary School in the Ejido La Unión area of Torreón. They were allegedly inspired to carry out the attack after learning about perpetrators of violent attacks outside Mexico through social media forums and being exposed to extremist ideology online.

Another significant development that was discussed at today’s mañanera was the death of nine inmates and a two-year-old boy at a prison in the coastal city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, on Thursday. They were all shot during a fight at the El Castillo prison, located about 14 kilometers east of the center of Mazatlán.

Hurricane Simon set to make landfall in Mexico this weekend

Citing information from the National Meteorological Service, National Civil Protection chief Laura Velázquez said that Hurricane Simon — a Category 1 hurricane on Friday morning — is forecast to make landfall this weekend on Mexico’s Pacific coast “in the vicinity of Jalisco and Colima.”

She said that Simon could make landfall as a Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane.

Velázquez said that “the area of impact” could be in one of five municipalities in Jalisco — Cihuatlán, La Huerta, Tomatlán, Cabo Corrientes or Puerto Vallarta — or in Manzanillo, Colima.

“It’s still too early to determine the [exact] category [of the hurricane] and the exact point of entry. But in the course of the day today, we may be able to obtain precise information,” she said.

Velázquez urged residents of Jalisco and Colima to keep themselves “very well informed” about the hurricane by remaining attentive to official information disseminated by state and federal authorities.

Government presents ‘safe digital environments’ decree 

Luisa María Alcalde, President Sheinbaum’s top legal adviser, presented a “decree to guarantee safe digital environments for girls, boys and adolescents.”

She said that the decree will apply to “digital platforms” that enable communication between users and the sharing of content — i.e. social media sites and other online forums.

Alcalde said that the decree bars digital platforms from displaying or recommending content to minors that “generates or promotes” hate speech, violent extremism, sexual exploitation or violence, suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, cyber-bullying and illegal conduct in general.

Sheinbaum said that the decree is “based on” the Mexican Constitution, which “establishes the protection of girls, boys and adolescents.”

Presidential legal counsel Luisa María Alcalde with a presentation showing the obligations of social media platforms under a proposed presidential decree
Presidential legal counsel Luisa María Alcalde shared a proposed decree to bar social media sites from showing minors harmful content including hate speech, violent extremism, sexual exploitation, cyber-bullying and more. (Presidencia)

She said that the government’s legal department and the Digital Transformation Agency will continue to work on the decree in the coming days to ensure that it doesn’t exceed the authority of the executive branch of government.

“They might also speak to the [digital] platforms,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the decree will be published in the government’s official gazette next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Mazatlán prison fight leaves 10 people dead  

A reporter asked the president whether she was informed at her Friday morning security briefing about the “riña” (fight or brawl) at a prison in Mazatlán on Thursday.

Nine inmates and a two-year-old boy who was visiting the El Castillo prison were shot and killed during the outbreak of violence. Sixteen prisoners were reported injured. Sinaloa Security Minister Sinuhé Téllez López said that two firearms were seized at the prison after a fight between rival groups of inmates. A man known as “El Owen” was reportedly among the nine inmates killed. He is said to be a member of the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, which is engaged in a long-running war with the Los Mayos faction of the same criminal group.

Sheinbaum said she received information about the case at the Friday morning Security Cabinet meeting. She said that Security Cabinet officials are working with interim Sinaloa Governor Graciela Domínguez to “strengthen the penitentiary system in Sinaloa.”

“I expect that the governor will be able to provide information,” Sheinbaum said.

Asked whether authorities would contact the deceased inmates’ relatives, the president said prison authorities always do so. She said that the cause of the prison dispute would be investigated and that the Security Cabinet would provide more information on the case.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

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