The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed its concern this Thursday about the conflict between the Mexican Government and TV Azteca, the second largest television station in Mexico, following a ruling by the Supreme Court on the millionaire tax debts of the channel’s owner, Ricardo Salinas Pliego.
The organization, based in Miami, considered in a statement that the public treatment of the case, which involves debts of some 33,477 million pesos from Salinas Pliego companies to the Mexican treasury, in the case of the ruling, “can generate an adverse environment” for the media.
This is because, the group considered, the conflict “has been marked by disqualifications from official spaces and calls from different political actors to review concessions.”
“It is essential that legal differences between the State and media companies be processed without political interference or speeches that could inhibit informative work,” declared Martha Ramos, president of the IAPA Press Freedom Commission and editorial director of the Mexican Editorial Organization (OEM).
Read also: After revocation of protection granted by a judge to TV Azteca, Sheinbaum reiterates that Salinas Pliego must pay his debts
The positioning of the IAPA occurs after the resolution of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) of Mexico, which this Thursday confirmed fiscal criteria in seven amparo trials promoted by Salinas Pliego.
With this, the Supreme Court of Mexico dismissed the last appeals of Grupo Elektra and TV Azteca, owned by Salinos Pliego, to challenge tax credits with an original amount of 33,477 million pesos.
The case has sparked controversy because Salinas Pliego has explicitly insulted the president, Claudia Sheinbaum and, before that, her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), who have demanded that the businessman, one of the richest men in Mexico, pay his debts.
Despite the ruling of the SCJN, Salinas Pliego’s debt to the treasury would exceed 74,000 million pesos (about 4,000 million dollars), according to Sheinbaum Government officials.
In addition, Salinas Pliego, who this week met with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, hinted in October that he could enter the field of politics with a possible presidential candidacy.
The IAPA did not rule on the substance of the legal conflict, but warned that “there is a risk that legal disputes will be interpreted or used in a way that affects editorial autonomy or inhibits news coverage.”
“The interest of the IAPA is to underline the importance that any dispute involving the media does not lead to undesirable effects on its information operation,” declared the president of the IAPA, Pierre Manigault.
With information from EFE
Find here the most outstanding news of Mexican politics
