In recent days, Mexican society has once again criticized the federal government for having fallen into an illegal and democratically reprehensible act: spying on human rights activists and journalists. The president of Mexico; Enrique Peña Nieto has given an apparently candid response: I also feel spied on!
It is not the first time that our rulers justify themselves under the discourse of the naive. In 2003, President Vicente Fox responded to a Channel 40 survey related to a problem he had with other television companies, something very peculiar: and why me?
In any case, the reality is that questioning the Federal Government is not a minor issue. It is the violation of the right to privacy, a right that has been defined by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the cases of the Ituango Massacre vs. Colombia and Tristán Donoso vs. Panama. Therefore, if it is true that – with the acquisition of the software known as Pegasus – a “personalized” espionage campaign was launched against Human Rights Defenders, anti-corruption activists and journalists, they would have to assume their responsibilities, and it would be of no use the innocent.
Of course, it is not overlooked that the “apparently” innocent replies: I also feel spied on! they were true. She has realized that the problem exists. But, if it is already reprehensible that we spy on each other, it is dramatic that the State does that to its citizens. The answer does not justify the problem; on the contrary, it shows that the situation is simply untenable. Without a doubt, the “Pegasus” incident only demonstrated that Mexican society was sleeping on a volcano.
There are no official figures on espionage, but there are international observers who have drawn their attention to this matter. For example, in Cyber Security Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean (Cyber Safety Trend in Latin America and Caribbean) published by the OEA (Organization of American States, in Spanish OEA), it has been recognized that only in Mexico have spent more than $3 billion on espionage-related cybercrime. The newspaper assures that Mexico was the first country where the virus that stole credit card information (Backdoor.Plotus) was used and from there it spread throughout the world. Even more: according to the reference of the Cybercrime Observatory in Latin America, the Mexican society spies. Individuals spy on other individuals, institutions on individuals and vice versa; Mexico spies on foreign countries and foreign countries also spy on Mexico. Certainly, Mexico has become in recent years a country of spires and spies. However, the Mexican government forgets that it is its responsibility to protect citizens and not invoke, as it did, that they also feel spied on. That does not justify the problem, it only proves that the government’s actions have been inadequate to solve it. Facing this stage, there is a double strategy to solve it. On the one hand, in case the crime of “Pegaso” is confirmed, so as not to leave it unpunished, on the other hand, a step must be taken to enforce the culture of respect for privacy in Mexican society.
