Mexico’s Election Watchdog Orders Ads Criticizing President to Be Pulled
Source: Wall Street Journal
Mexico’s Election Watchdog Orders Ads Criticizing President to Be Pulled
Move raises concerns about the ability of parties to criticize the government
By Amy Guthrie
Updated April 15, 2015 9:35 p.m. ET
MEXICO CITY—Mexico’s elections watchdog has ordered that an opposition political party’s TV and radio ads accusing President Enrique Peña Nieto of misspending taxpayers’ money be pulled from the airwaves for slandering the president, raising concerns about the ability of political parties to criticize the government.
The National Electoral Institute said in a statement Tuesday that the advertisements from the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, contained “slanderous messages” and gave TV and radio companies 24 hours to stop running the spots.
The TV ads criticize the president for allegedly taking along some 200 people with him as part of the official Mexican delegation during a March state visit to the U.K.
The institute said that Mr. Peña Nieto complained that the ads “discredit and disqualify” the executive without offering “any proof.”
Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/mexicos-election-watchdog-orders-ads-criticizing-president-to-be-pulled-1429136216