By: Metztli Hernández (CEFO coordinator Mexico)
Since 2013, internet access has been a constitutional right in México; however, the Telecommunications reform, promoted by then President Enrique Peña Nieto, was much more than this. These changes disrupted the Federal Law of Communications and even the constitution to ensure that all Mexicans have access to information and communication technologies (ICT), including, but not limited to, broadband, fair competition, and free concurrence in telecommunications and broadcasting services.
«The reforms to the telecommunications law were the result of much pressure, of much mobilization of a good part of the population seeking access to concessions for using the radioelectric space for the community communication service. It seems very important to us that after so many struggles, the possibility of generating or creating conditions for the construction of this multicultural society opens […] (Marco Antonio Tafolla Soriano, Xoxocotla, Morelos)»
ICTs constitute a broad spectrum of technical and technological resources that facilitate the issuance, access, and treatment of information, which provides «a [great] opportunity to overcome social and geographical obstacles, considerably increasing the capacities of communities to access information. Information, share experiences and practices almost anywhere in the world» (UNESCO, 2021). Unfortunately, there is no unequivocal consensus that allows us to define it. However, as Esmeralda Sánchez Duarte (2008) points out, these are conceived as the universe of two [inseparable] sets represented by: communication technologies (CT), constituted for the transmission of content in various formats such as radio, cinema, and television, and information technologies (IT) characterized by the digitization of computer records, telematics, and their interfaces.
ITC is not just about receiving and decoding messages and, in the best cases generating a response from the sender. On the contrary, ICTs participate in the whole process. The intent of communicating is key; everyone has an important message to share, which we prepare and codify according to the medium, voice, gestures, and instant messaging. Then, we choose the most appropriate channel: radio, television, social networks, or mobile telephony before launching it into the world, in the hope that it reaches the intended recipient and with its response, start the communication process again. However, the conditions are not always suitable for this process to be direct and expeditious. On the contrary, we face countless obstacles, especially in the current globalized context, where physical, temporal, and social distances are increasing.
For this reason, the United Nations General Assembly, through resolution 56/183, recognized the enormous need to take advantage of the potential of ICTs to promote the millennium goals by urging all members to promote universal access to ICTs, attending to the obstacles and impediments that limit their access, what we know today as the digital divide. On the other hand, the Geneva Declaration of Principles stipulates that member states and stakeholders must:
- Provide universal access through network infrastructure and applications of information and communication technologies that are well developed, adapted to regional, national, and local conditions, easily accessible and affordable, and, where possible, make greater use of broadband and other technologies
- Innovative, they can accelerate countries’ economic and social progress and the well-being of all individuals, communities, and people.
- Develop and apply policies that create a favorable climate for stability, predictability, and fair competition at all levels.
- In disadvantaged areas, establishing public ICT access points in places such as post offices, schools, libraries, and archives can be an effective means of guaranteeing universal access to the infrastructure and services of the Information Society.
Based on the above, Mexico developed the National Digital Strategy «Digital Mexico,» where the federal government’s action plan is to promote the adoption and development of ICTs in Mexico and insert its population into the Information Society and knowledge.In 2018, after the end of the project and in the framework of the celebration of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, and after completing the first stage of the national digital strategy, the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) and the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) present the Diagnosis of Mobile Service Coverage in Indigenous Peoples 2018 . This study aims to demonstrate the progress in connectivity taking into account variables such as the marginalization index, the regionalization created by the INPI and the increase in the number of providers that provide the service at the local level, derived from the reform of the Federal law mentioned above. Among the main findings of this diagnosis are the following:
- The global analysis shows that 82% of all localities with Indigenous populations have mobile coverage in 3G, but only 40% of localities have access to 4G technology coverage.
- Indigenous peoples such as the Seri (Sonora) and Pame (Querétaro and San Luis Potosí) were identified in which less than 30% of their population have mobile coverage in at least one technology (2G, 3G, or 4G).In other cases, such as the Cora (Nayarit), Chatino (Oaxaca), Chontal de Oaxaca (Oaxaca), Mixe (Oaxaca) and Triqui (Oaxaca) Indigenous peoples, at least 50% of the population has mobile service coverage in at least one technology (2G, 3G or 4G).
- The Indigenous peoples with the largest population according to ethnolinguistic criteria are the Nahuas (concentrated in more significant numbers in Puebla, Hidalgo, and Veracruz) and Maya (Yucatan peninsula), in which 89% and 96% of their population, respectively, have mobile coverage service in at least one technology (2G, 3G or 4G).
- At the federal entity level and as an example, in the states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, it was possible to identify that 76% of the localities with the presence of an indigenous population have mobile service coverage in at least one technology (2G, 3G or 4G).In other cases, such as Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán, 87% of the localities with an Indigenous population have mobile service coverage in at least one technology (2G, 3G, or 4G).
At first glance, these indicators suggest that access to ICTs was resolved, and with it, the digital divide. However:
«The gap in connectivity and access to information is quite broad. It seems that the issue of communication and access to information as a human right is at high costs. Although one or two companies offer Internet or satellite connection service, this becomes very expensive. They do not provide more signal amplitude in other spaces of the same community, less outside the area. The sale of internet tokens per hour is more of a search for the signal. It is also an issue of security because the open spaces do not have the conditions either due to the weather or situations that may occur towards the integrity of the person, young person, or child. Since access to the signal is weak, the chances of accessing reliable media are also minimal” (María Helena Hernandez, Ejido Don Samuel, Campeche).
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated many aspects of economic, political, and social inequality that have affected Indigenous communities for a long time. Putting ICT´s as an example, telecommunications companies do not invest in highly marginalized or sparsely populated areas, even when relatively dispersed, since their profitability is lower than large urban centers. Similarly, there is less availability and variability of electronic devices. According to the National Survey on Availability of Information Technologies in Households (2018), less than 20% of Indigenous households [1] have an internet connection through a paid service, which correlates with 19.3% of indigenous households having a computer or tablet. On the other hand, 77.3% have a cell phone, which (at least) has a connection to the few 2G networks that remain in our country, which in the eyes of providers ensures connectivity, even if it is slow and unstable [2]. Despite the lack of connectivity and economic restrictions in Indigenous communities, the study by the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFETEL) indicates that people generate connectivity strategies based on their possibilities and local conditions and, due to this, populations of Indigenous people use mobile networks such as 3G and 4G to connect (IFETEL, 2018), and buy cell phones and computers through payments in self-service stores that have proliferated in the country’s rural municipalities (Gómez & Martínez, 2020).
Under this scenario, adopting the virtual educational model designed by the Secretary of Public Education (SEP) to reduce the health crisis was extremely expensive and, in most cases, unfeasible. Each student is expected to have one or more devices, and each «family must connect as best they can» (Pineda, 2020). Without considering that there are localities with no electricity, which makes the matter even worse considering that many young people and children must travel long distances to access the signal. In addition to the above, a lack of technological literacy limits the support that parents or guardians can provide to students.
«When the pandemic started (the Internet), it was beneficial if we did not have the Internet here in the community. The students would go to other places to connect and have virtual classes but thank God we have here in the community was beneficial. Help for young people since through them they can send homework and have virtual classes so that they do not fall behind in subjects so that they do not fail the year «(Sebastiana Hernández, La Mancolona, Campeche)
Besides education, access to health services was also undermined since the necessary conditions did not guarantee adequate care from a distance. Another item to consider is the right of access to information. In such a changing context, where the numbers of infections and deaths are increasing, having updated and constant information is a matter of life or death. Similarly, the spread of false information, which contradicts health recommendations or even denies the existence of the disease, tends to be linked to a lack of access to reliable sources. Finally, we must mention an increase in digital administration and governance procedures; such fundamental aspects as the issuance of official documents, tax records, payment for services, and access to government programs – through online forms or contact by email – relied heavily on the use of ICT´s, which excludes large sectors of their fundamental rights as citizens.
For more information on Internet access in the indigenous territories of the Yucatan Peninsula, we recommend listening to María Elena Hernández:
References:
- IFT (2019) Use of ICT and Internet activities in Mexico. Impact of sociodemographic characteristics of users (2019 version) http://w.ift.org.mx/estadisticas/uso-de-las-tic-y-actividades-por-internet-en-mexico-impacto-de- the-sociodemographic-characteristics-0
- National Human Rights Commission (2017) Right to access and use information and communication technologies. Available < http://appweb.cndh.org.mx/biblioteca/archivos/pdfs/foll_DerAccesoUsoTIC.pdf >
- Dulce Angelica Gómez Navarro and Marlen Martínez Domínguez (2020) Indigenous digital divide in times of COVID-19- Available at <https://ichan.ciesas.edu.mx/brechas-digitales-indigenas-en-tiempos-de-covid- 19-2>