Political communication in elections and pandemic in Mexico, 2021

Abstract

This research essay is divided into three parts: One, introductory where we contextualize the importance of the research work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that shook and shakes the world, and in particular Mexico, which raised operational problems a policy that forced electoral institutions, political parties and the militancy to do differently than what traditionally had to do with the organization, campaigns and qualification of electoral processes. Electoral campaigns, for example, ceased to have direct political communication with citizens and henceforth, to do so virtually, through social networks, even in a context of collective fear, given the uncertainty of the effects of the pandemic, new forms of transmission of negative messages and false news (fake news) appeared; two, the INE, in charge of organizing federal elections and exceptionally, at the request of local electoral bodies, organizing state and municipal elections. For the purpose of the interest of this essay, this State body is in charge of operating the institutional model of political communication and assigning through a formula the fiscal times of the government and giving what corresponds to each of the parties in times elections, but not only that, also to check if the contents of the messages are subject to what is established by the law of political parties and for this, it has an «avant-garde» instrument to monitor the messages in real time and, three, the This essay makes a review of the conspiracy theories and fake news that occurred in 2018 for comparative purposes in the 2021 federal elections that were less subject to fact-checking mechanisms that showed the independence of the media and the veracity or not of the political messages of the parties and candidates offer.