The National Centre for Social Communication (Centro Nacional de Comunicacion Social AC – CENCOS) was founded on June 22 1964 and was registered as a civil association on April 23 1965. It emerged at a time when the communications media really began to break through in our country.
CENCOS was a space of social justice giving visibility to those sectors of the population without access to the main media. These sectors had created alternative ways of communicating to show the reality from the perspective of social concerns. This began a struggle to include different actors in our country where oppression and anonimity violated peoples’ human rights.
Over time, the organization had to adapt its work to the ever-demanding needs, but it retained its progressive vision, assuring its continuation and leadership without losing its critical edge, so that it could represent civil society in various instances at local, national and international levels.
The story of CENCOS is divided into four stages:
Social Communication 1964 to 1969
At first the work involved denouncing the repression and injustice experienced by various sectors of society (children, women, older adults, indigenous people, social activists, journalists, among others). There was very little activity or documentation of human rights abuses in Mexico in the 60s, so that we began our work in this area, after connecting with the International Commission of Lawyers in Geneva, Switzerland. We mainly distributed information to the church community to contribute to the difficult discussion of the church and its role in social change. The strategy was to use the communications media to promote Christian values and to lead, orient and record the efforts and experiences of the faithful.
Alternative Communication 1970 to 1977
This was a time in Latin America when many nations used military force and established repressive military regimes. Many political refugees came to Mexico from all over Latin America. CENCOS supported them with campaigns to free people from the prisons of the dictators and in some cases we managed to save them from torture. We were dedicated to supporting civil society by getting out information hidden by the media and by promoting the defence of human rights.
The on-going work of CENCOS was to promote dialogue on social themes and to distribute regular information to the general public for a more complete understanding of the situation at the time, so as to enable them to make a useful contribution to the common good and progress of everyone.
During these years in Mexico, a more subtle kind of repression was growing, directed towards key people and objects. It was mostly anonymous or disguised. We began to develop ways of support and solidarity and, in some cases, were able to free people from prison and torture. Many human rights centres developed during this time and CENCOS participated in and/or was part of organizing a number of them.
The work of the Centre came from a vision of support to civil society, getting out information hidden by the main media. The defence of human rights now played a key role. From this same vision, CENCOS also became a trainer of communications for social change at the local level, which led to being involved in the construction and accompaniment of those linked to social processes, in which communication was key.
An important event in the story of the Centre took place in July 1977, when we collaborated with social movements and backed the Workers Union of the National Autonomous Metropolitan University during the strike of that year. The offices were broken into and the main office was closed down by the Lopez Portillo government. Because of its collaboration, CENCOS received recognition for its civic and social work from various groups promoting solidarity campaigns at the national and international levels.
Popular Communication 1980 to 1990
This was the decade which brought “the historic matrix of a centralized State, ruled by corporate agreements, protective of the internal market and which claimed its legitimacy from a social base of workers and peasant farmers and their collective social demands.” In this context, our organization decided to work with the popular movements which were sharing their proposals and struggles amongst themselves and other sectors. New social and political actors, including civil and social organizations, were now part of the political scene of the country and a legitimate voice for citizen demands.
One of the reasons behind the growth of peoples’ movements was the earthquake of 1985, after which Mexican society became aware of the power of associations in demanding basic rights. In financial affairs, the 80s also produced a crisis due to the reduction of credit flows starting in 1982, along with a rise in interest rates and deterioration of the terms of exchange and the world market crash of 1981 because of the price of oil and other raw materials. This meant for Mexico a deepening of its economic problems which, along with increased capital flight, brought virtual insolvency and led to the so-called debt crisis. This situation initiated the implementation of neo-liberal policies in one country after the other in the region.
Another fundamental fact of this decade was the opposition to electoral politics, personified by the candidature of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas as president of the Republic. The whole country demanded a change in the political system in favour of society.
Citizens as Agents of Change 1990 to 2000
During this period the economy and free trade moved into operation. “In 1990, George Bush launched his ‘Initiative for the Americas’ which he hoped would stop the deterioration of the US international economic hegemony over other countries where the dominant role of the US was implicit. This initiative moved forward with the Free Trade Agreement between the US, Canada and, later in 1994, Mexico.”
In the face of this, the vision and continuity of former projects of CENCOS became clearer, with more focus on denouncing and speaking out about the new international context in which Mexico had become involved with the signing of NAFTA. In the end, this led to a communications approach of political inclusivity, in face of the national/international context. CENCOS sought the participation of all sectors of society in the naming of problems and building solutions. It was able to strengthen community efforts through formation and training as well as provided the ways and means to use the alternative communications media.
1994 saw the manifestation of a movement for the recognition of indigenous people in the Lacandon jungle in Chiapas. The Zapatista Army for National Liberation appeared on the political stage and CENCOS participated in the National Democratic Convention whose aim was to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Strategic Social Communication 2002 to Present
With an on-going focus on civil society as the essential motor for social change, CENCOS has continued to use the communications media to promote their initiatives and demands, thereby building recognition and credibility for this sector. The work has also entailed publicizing the economic and political situation of the people. The aim is to serve this sector by giving them more of a voice.
This period has also been a time when the communications media has become a strategic focus for society, as well as for those promoting the economic market. The different uses of the media have therefore made the topic very controversial. CENCOS promotes the discussion within a regulatory framework, pushing the issue from the point of view of freedom of expression and access to information.
The work of CENCOS takes into account the whole process of globalization and seeks to strengthen social movements by speaking out and taking action at the national and international levels. We challenge policies which have serious social, cultural and economic repercussions ¬– such as free trade which has brought even more inequality to a country which is already very unequal.
