The Jalisco State government spent more than 155 million pesos on publicity last year. That’s more than ten million dollars for billboards, print, online, television and radio ads that announce the state government and its activities.
Jalisco is not unique in this practice. Large advertising budgets are common at all levels of Mexican government, and indications are that those budgets have been climbing. Since Emilio Gonzalez took his seat as governor of Jalisco in 2007, the money spent on publicity has increased by 49 percent. This follows a national trend, with Mexican states having spent over 2.5 billion pesos on such expenses in 2010.
{/eg}The practice has been criticized in the past because it has been used sometimes as a way for the government to reward outlets that don’t give them too much negative press and pull their advertising pesos from those that do. Mexico lacks laws that would control how the various government entities spend their advertising budgets.
And while political parties are not mentioned in the ads, public advertisements are clearly publicity for whichever party or politician is in control of the government entity that pays for the ads, especially pertinent as the country draws closer to elections this July 1.{/access}