Services on Demand
Journal
Article
Indicators
Cited by SciELO
Access statistics
Related links
Similars in SciELO
Share
Revista mexicana de ciencias políticas y sociales
Print version ISSN 0185-1918
Abstract
SALAZAR REBOLLEDO, María Grisel. Strategic Allies and the Limits of Censorship: The Power of Laws to Silence the Press. Rev. mex. cienc. polít. soc [online]. 2019, vol.64, n.235, pp.495-522. ISSN 0185-1918.
What effects do libel laws have over the press? Why do some media remain critical while others do not when facing repressive defamation legislation? This article aims to explain how the local press reacts to legal restrictions. The results show that the chilling effect caused by libel laws is conditioned by the context’s particularities: the critical function of the press may persist if strategic allies are present. Leaning on an original dataset on the content of the main Mexican newspapers of each state, it is argued that an independent judiciary and vigorous parliamentary opposition are key factors for the survival of a critical press.
Keywords : censorship; freedom of the press; mass media; subnational studies; press; local authoritarianism; Mexico.