The bizarre outburst by TV Azteca’s star newsreader, Javier Altorre, devoted 10 minutes (OK, 9.24 minutes) to attacking new school texts (150 million given free of charge to the country’s 24.5 million students, and 2 million teachers and school administrators) is perhaps best seen as a “Hail Mary Pass” by the opposition parties to find a cause … any cause… to derail the “Fourth Transformation”… or — just maybe — to save the network’s largest shareholder from an embarassing tax problem.

It’s not unusual for Mexican newscasters to editorialize, and no secret that the “mainstream media”… i.e., the corporate media, opposes the present administration…and its overwhelmingly popular majority, short of a miracle scheduled to hold on to power in next years’ elections… Altorre’s “report” was something well beyond the normal sniping and nitpicking the networks usually resort to.

Communism?

While, hilarously, Altorre at one point seems to have trouble finding the page and passage he presents as “evidence”, I suppose that references to Paulo Freier (in a teacher’s guide) and including questions for student on issues like whether or not they think (and that seeems the most commie of things, to ask students to think) there are social classes, and if there are people who are oppressed, or who oppress others. And… most egregiously of all… in a text apparently meant for minority language schools… it says that all languages are of equal worth, and … perhaps more appallingly… includes a small lesson meant on defusing an all-too common “microagression” (specifically, a Spanish word commonly applied to indigenous people, In other words, building in lessons on sharing, community values, and conflict resolution are… so we’re told by Altorre… a “communist virus”.

But… but…

It’s not as if there are not some leigitmate complaints about the new texts… some spelling errors (or perhaps typos), notably the wrong date for Benito Juarez’ birthday, some misleading charts and graphs… the kinds of things that an errata sheet calls for. But, there are the more serious concerns from the right… such as this chart.

Padres… and los padres

“Union Nacional de Padres de Familia” is not, as one might expect, your local PTA, but rather a right-wing pressure group, similar to goups like “Focus on the Family” or “Moms for Liberty” in the United States. Since its founding in 1917, it has fought against secular Education, in the 1920s, “socialist education”, sex education in the 1930s, “Communism” since the 1940s, free textbooks (also seen as a Communist plot) when they were first introduced in 1961, and (of course) sex education since the 1970s, more recently, recycling US conservative anti-abortion and magrriage equality propaganda not always well-translated into Spanish, or exactly suited to Mexican cultural expectations.

Although they are not, at least officially, a Catholic group, it enjoys support from not only PAN and their “piety wing” but, at least tacitly, from the hierarchy, which as always pushed for religious education in the public schools.

PAN-ic attack

Given UNPF’s ties to PAN (which fits, given PAN’s own roots in the Cristero movement of the 1920s, and Mexican Fascism), it’s been suggested that the ferocity of the attack on the new text by their party leader, Marco Cortés … who beyond claiming the texts “indoctrinated” children, claimed they were illegal (exactly how is uncertain, although a few judges have been found willing to issue injunctions against their distribution… which are being ignored) and… made a suggestion: parents should cut out the parts of the texts with which they disagree (video from Bloomberg for those interested)!

Red-baiting for pesos?

Or… as Julio Hernández López, in his influential Astillero column in Friday’s Jornada points out, Altorres’ rant reflects perhaps not his own views (though presumbably they do), but those of the network’s majority shareholder, oligarch Ricardo Salinas Pliego… whose Grupo Salinas owns, among other properties, department store chains, banks, the second largest internet provider in the country (Totalplay), a motorcycle manufacturer, and TV Azteca… originally, a state run television network, which he picked up on the cheap back during the presidency of Carlos Salinas (no relation) in return for an unsecured “loan” to the then-president’s bagman and brother, Raul.

Salinas Pliego (no relation to Carlos and Raul Salinas) has reasons to end the Transformation and bring back the now discredited “mainstream” parties, beyond the just conservative bent of most extremely wealthy people. Having prospered during the “neo-liberal” era, Salinas Pliego has not seen the Transformation as in his best interests… snubbed by the Morena government when he suggested that the country needed “wise heads” to manage the economy… specifically naming himself as the person to lead some sort of Business Council. And, much worse for him, during the recent pandemic, he was forced to close his Electra stores (selling electronics and clothing mostly) when only essential services were permitted to open, under the claim that his stores have branch banks (which he owns) and he HAD to let in shoppers,because they might also use the bank window. Or, a food delivery person might need to buy his brand of motorbikes (he owns… and sells at Electra) for their essential service. Or something.

AND WORSE… he owns a shit-ton of back taxes, that previous government were all to willing to defer or write off. Oligarch having to pay their taxes? Communism indeed!