Mexican lawmakers go after ‘narco series’

MEXICO CITY - Mexican lawmakers want the country’s terrestrial television networks to stop broadcasting “narco series” during prime time hours over concerns they could influence children in a country beset by organized crime. Senator Zoe Robledo and Deputy Lia Limon, chairs of the television committees in the two chambers of Congress, said networks have recently announced shows that violate federal telecommunications laws regarding the hours they can be broadcast. Robledo said the narco series should be televised between midnight and 5:00 am instead of 9:00 pm, when children could be watching the country’s national channels. TV Azteca, for instance, currently has a show titled “Rosario Tijeras” - about a female assassin - that airs at 9:00 pm. “We don’t want to ban narco series. We want them to be on television at the appropriate hours,” Robledo told Radio Formula. Robledo said children should not be exposed to shows that “glorify crime” and could make them “grow up with the idea that a hero is one who breaks the law.” The lawmakers plan to summon officials from the interior ministry and the Federal Telecommunications Institute to discuss whether the networks should be sanctioned. Mexico’s decade-old drug war has given rise to “narco cultura,” a fascination with the underworld that has inspired singers to write “narcocorridos” (drug ballads). - AFP