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From Twitter to Mobilization

Dr. Raúl Diego Rivera Hernández
University of South Carolina

From Twitter to Mobilization: The Case of #Yo soy 132 in Mexico

The student social movement #Yo soy 132 emerges spontaneously in the context of the 2012 presidential campaignsin Mexico. On its first stage, the movement is composed of students of the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico whohold a critical view of and reject the candidate proposed by the PRI (The Institutional Revolutionary Party), EnriquePeńa Nieto. On its second stage, #Yo soy 132 consolidates a structure and an institutional design with otheruniversities, both public and private and puts forward a manifesto. This declaration of principles marks that #Yo soy132 is a lay, non partisan movement composed mostly of students (without financial support of any political party),that is committed to the problems faced by the nation. Currently, the voice of #Yo soy 132 goes beyond the postelectoral conflict and sets out new issues in Mexico’s political scene. Undoubtedly, the most important of these issuesinclude the democratization of mass media.In this presentation I propose that #Yo soy 132 assumes an active political role in the Mexican stage due to itsvisibility on alternative media (Facebook, Twitter, and its own website) and public expression of discontent andindignation against political authorities. The position of this collective as a “critical conscience” during the presidentialcampaign and post electoral period has led them to become a group that counterweights the hegemony of the state andits institutions.

The lecture will be in English.