The Document, Prepared on the Letterhead of the State Public Security Secretariat, Violates Personal Data Protection by Exposing Addresses, Medical Records, and Vehicle License Plates of Those Affected
Activists, mothers searching for missing persons, and communicators in Zacatecas denounced the existence of a database containing the names of people apparently considered unwelcome by the state government.
Those affected were alerted on September 8 by people controlling access to an official event: “I was informed that they had a list in their hands at the Governor’s Fifth Annual Report, and that certain individuals, mainly those of us involved in communications—journalists, reporters, communicators—were prohibited from entering because we were critical,” journalist Luis Chávez recounted.
The list violates personal data protection; it includes addresses, vehicle license plates, and descriptions of alleged medical conditions, exposing those involved and their families: “They say that I am bipolar, that I am critical—well, that is my job as a journalist—and they also say that I am depressed (…) those are lies, although some of the information there is true, and they expose my family and expose me,” Luis Chávez added.
The government denied being the author of the document but acknowledged that its dissemination could constitute a crime: “The existence of the list cannot be denied because it is a document that has been published on social media, but that is why it is important to report it. Yesterday, at the Peacebuilding Roundtable, I even asked the Prosecutor’s Office to initiate an investigation, even if there is no formal complaint, for it to practically do so on its own initiative,” Rodrigo Reyes, secretary general of Government, said by telephone.
The document appears printed on sheets bearing the letterhead of the State Public Security Secretariat. Therefore, those affected demanded that the government lead the criminal complaints.
“But the list has a logo, and that is not a minor matter (…) I mean, the fact that you also say, ‘No, this is not mine,’ well, that obliges you, just as you tell people that this is why it does not proceed and that is why David Monreal does not acknowledge it, to say: ‘Report it!’” demanded journalist Verónica Trujillo.
Analysts consider it unlikely that a private individual could have prepared the list without support from the government apparatus: “Those who have the resources to build this type of database, with the information we saw in the columns and that we came to know about, are obviously a public entity,” said political analyst Gabriel Contreras.
For feminist activist María Luisa Sosa, these practices are not new; she already appeared on one of the first lists created by the current administration: “And at least on this list, which was the first one to circulate, I was on it, along with a large group of feminists, identified as unwelcome people in our own land, in our own state,” she recalled.
Gabriel Contreras maintains that smear campaigns allegedly promoted by the government have become a constant: “I also received solidarity from many people in the profession. I am also here for whatever they need. I am very sorry that they are going through this because I experienced it myself, and it is not an easy situation.”
Some of those affected have already initiated legal action with the support of international organizations: “We must not let this go. From my perspective, there are many crimes that could be established legally (…) since yesterday we have been in communication with Article 19. If there is an international NGO that I trust, it is them,” Verónica Trujillo explained.
Although the government distanced itself from the creation and dissemination of the list, authorities did not detail the legal process for identifying and punishing those responsible.
Source: excelsior
