Special | I sued AMLO

By Denise Dresser, published in Reforma.

López Obrador's morning show has fallen into the grotesque. From there he defames, attacks, lies, and seeks to destroy the reputation of anyone who criticizes him.

From there he attacks Norma Piña, attacks INE, defends Yasmín Esquivel, calls José Woldenberg a "raccoon" and shows that he has lost his moral compass.

Gone is the promise of circular dialogue, accountability, transparency in the exercise of power. Instead, we now witness a daily exercise of degradation.

As a victim of this verbal assassination, since I have been mentioned 87 times in the Roman circus of the National Palace, I decided to exercise my right, and that of all of us, to defend myself from an abusive ruler. In September I filed an amparo lawsuit for the violation of my -and our- rights before the Federal Judiciary. I am litigating against the President and will continue to do so. This fight concerns me but transcends me.

Supported by the team of the National Strategic Litigation Council, I sued AMLO for the false statements about me, including when he called me an "agent of a foreign government. I sued AMLO because I have no mechanisms to counter-argue or defend myself, and neither does anyone else who has been defamed.

I sued AMLO because he is violating my rights and those of everyone by inhibiting freedom of expression, due to the intimidating effect of his harangue.

It is enough to remember the violence with which a group of his supporters shouted and pushed me out of the Zócalo during a march against militarization.

It is enough to see how AMLO's verbal violence -and his permission to attack- jumps from the morning news, to the social networks, and from there to the streets. After the presidential aggression against Minister Norma Piña, a meme of her was circulating on Twitter presenting her as "The problem", and a bullet as "The solution".

I will tell you how the judge who received my complaint reacted. Her hand trembled. She asked for medical leave, and after six months, the "acting secretary" issued a ridiculous sentence. That I did not have the right to seek protection because the mornings "did not constitute an act of authority", although we know that they are paid with public resources and from there they govern through orders, decrees and instructions. That the evident lies and defamations of the President about me in the morning show are "simple opinions" and an example of "freedom of expression", although we know that Article 134 of the Constitution limits the expressions of public servants to topics that concern their work, and they cannot use names, images, voices or symbols. That I have the right to reply in the morning, although in order to exercise that right according to the law, AMLO would have to give me 87 consecutive days to go there, stand on the platform next to him, use the screen, and present my counter-arguments to his insults -something that will never happen.

And here is the icing on the cake: the "acting secretary" retroactively applied to me the first part of the "Plan B" of electoral reform, alleging that the mornings "do not constitute a government campaign", since now the President and all the officials can say whatever they want, whenever they want, and that does not constitute propaganda". This new General Law of Social Communication, published in the Official Gazette on February 22, 2022, is being challenged in the Supreme Court of Justice, precisely for contravening the Constitution. And I will join the challenges. Accompanied by my lawyers, a few days ago I filed an appeal for review that will end up in a Collegiate Court in Administrative Matters, and hopefully it will reach the Supreme Court.

I undertook this lawsuit with the purpose of setting historical and legal precedents: I say "enough" in defense of my name, and in defense of all those defamed, attacked, unjustly denigrated. I want judges to defend the right of citizens to receive truthful, objective, timely and unbiased governmental information as stated in the Constitution. Lopez Obrador has known me for many years, he has come to my apartment for breakfast, in numerous instances I marched by his side when he was a social fighter, and I defended him. Today I see that he is betraying his friends, shared causes, and democracy.

That is why I sued him.

In the words of Isabel Allende: "I fear power with impunity. I fear the abuse of power, and the power to abuse".

Column reproduced by Opinión 51, with authorization from Denise Dresser.

The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.

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