墨西哥：媒体巨头与人民的政治战（节选）

    但在2000年，在墨西哥被伪独裁政权统治71年后，革命制度党成为在野党；也是从此时起，Televisa与它的历史关系日渐冷淡。到2006年总统选举期间，革命制度党一度沦为看客。当年，墨西哥最受关注的分别是左翼候选人AMLO，以及最终当选总统的中右翼政治家费利佩•卡尔德隆。革命制度党实行的政治制度垮台之后，Televisa现任CEO艾米里奥•阿兹卡拉贾-让曾对议员表示，“民主是好事。”在2000年之后的过渡期初期，Televisa为多位政客拍摄过视频，并收费为政客制作宣传内容。

    然而，在革命制度党遭遇历史性惨败六年之后，Televisa高管与这个党派的领导人重修旧好，重新建立起了密切的关系。2006年，费利佩•卡尔德隆上台，AMLO在墨西哥首都游行，抗议总统大选结果。而与此同时，在墨西哥州的山区，以及墨西哥城周围人口稠密的地区，培尼亚•涅托、革命制度当和Televisa则在为东山再起悄悄做着准备。培尼亚•涅托长相俊朗，头发总是经过精心梳理，对民粹主义政治手段和媒体宣传极具天赋，当时他刚刚当选墨西哥州州长，便聘请Televisa协助宣传期公共工程项目，并且为了在直播采访中露面，额外向Televisa支付了大笔费用。

    这位年轻州长最终能够成为最具希望的全国大选候选人，Televisa的报道在其中发挥了重要作用。在他公开宣布竞选总统几年之前，Televisa便跟踪拍摄了培尼亚•涅托参与基础设施建设的场面，并且报道了他与著名的Televisa肥皂剧明星安吉拉•里维拉高调的浪漫爱情故事。阿帕里西奥说：“在培尼亚•涅托担任州长的最初几年里，经常能看到他出现在晚间新闻节目和广告中，宣传自己的政绩。”然而在2008年，墨西哥新颁布法律，禁止候选人和政客购买宣传广告，导致靠电视走红的培尼亚•涅托的竞选势头一度受挫。但很快购买电视亮相时间的黑市交易兴起。2009年，一名西班牙记者公布了来自Televisa高管的电子邮件，声称该电视台高管希望他从有利于候选人的角度，报道其对土耳其伊斯坦布尔的访问。这个事件虽然没有引起轩然大波，但也让Televisa经历了一次轻微的公关危机。记者何塞•塞拉斯称，Televisa高管通知他，对该名候选人的报道是“重中之重”，因为“对于该类报道，广播公司与他们（指革命制度党）早已达成了协议。”

    竞选早期，有关Televisa与革命制度党之间协议的谴责对培尼亚•涅托登上总统宝座并未造成严重威胁。虽然AMLO、个别美国外交官，以及来自英国《卫报》（The Guardian）的记者均声称，Televisa与培尼亚•涅托之间存在正式的（也是非法的）宣传协议，但却没有拿出确凿的证据。阿帕里西奥称：“我认为，Televisa对培尼亚•涅托确实非常友好。但他们之间是否有协议？我不知道。”

    翻译：刘进龙/汪皓

    The historic relationship between Televisa and the PRI has been less relevant since 2000, when after 71 years of running Mexico as a pseudo-autocracy, the PRI was finally voted out of office. By the 2006 election the party had been effectively driven out of the presidential race, and Mexico's national debate focused on AMLO, the leftist candidate, and Felipe Calderon, the right-of-center politician who was eventually elected as the country's president. Following the demise of the original PRI regime, Emilio Azcarraga-Jean, Televisa's current CEO, told a group of senators "democracy is good business." During the initial post-2000 period of transition, Televisa filmed videos and accepted payments to produce content for a variety of politicians.

    But, six years after the PRI's historic defeat, Televisa executives and PRI leaders rekindled the old relationship. In 2006, while Felipe Calderon settled into office and AMLO marched through the capital to protest the election results, in the hills of Mexico State, the populous region surrounding Mexico City, Peña Nieto, the PRI, and Televisa quietly set the stage for a comeback. Having just been elected as Mexico State's governor, Peña Nieto, a politician with an actor's good looks, carefully combed hair, and a flair for populist politics and media promotion, hired Televisa to help him promote his public works projects and paid additional sums to sit for on-air interviews.

    Televisa's coverage of the young governor played a big role in converting him into a viable national candidate. Years before he even declared his intention to run for president, Televisa's news cameramen followed Peña Nieto recording footage as he built infrastructure and embarked in a highly publicized romance with a popular Televisa soap opera star, Angela Rivera. "In the first years [of his term as governor] you would see Peña Nieto in the nightly news shows [as well as] ads promoting his achievements," Aparicio explained.

    Peña Nieto's made-for-TV candidacy lost some momentum in 2008 when new laws prohibited candidates and politicians from buying promotional ads. However, a black market soon emerged for off-the-books deals for airtime. Televisa faced a minor public relations disaster in 2009 when a Spanish journalist published emails from Televisa executives he claimed were pushing him to provide favorable coverage of the candidate's visit to Istanbul, Turkey. The journalist, Jose Silas, claimed that Televisa executives informed him that coverage of the candidate was a "priority" because the broadcaster "has an agreement with them [the PRI] for this type of coverage."

    In the early stages of the campaign, the accusations of a pact between Televisa and the PRI never seriously threatened Peña Nieto's march towards the presidential office. Although AMLO, some former U.S. diplomats, and journalists from the British newspaper The Guardian all alleged the existence of a formal (and therefore illegal) promotional agreement between Televisa and Peña Nieto, no definitive evidence has been uncovered. "I think Televisa tended to be nice to [Peña Nieto], but was there a contract involved? I don't know," Aparicio explained.