{"id":6212,"date":"2017-07-28T18:18:31","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T22:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6212"},"modified":"2017-07-28T18:18:31","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T22:18:31","slug":"for-many-mexicans-this-government-spying-scandal-feels-eerily-familiar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6212","title":{"rendered":"For Many Mexicans, This Government Spying Scandal Feels Eerily Familiar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pegasus statue in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City. Alberto Correu\/ flickr, CC BY-SA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The National Palace<\/a> in Mexico City has been home for Mexican ruling classes since the Aztec empire. Its main courtyard is adorned with a fountain crowned by a baroque sculpture of Pegasus<\/a>, the winged mythological stallion. Pegasus has thus presided over the centre of power in Mexico since 1625<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was Enrico Mart\u00ednez (1560-1632), a cosmographer who worked for King Phillip II of Spain, who chose the Pegasus constellation as the cosmic ruler<\/a> of Mexico\u2019s destiny, recalling that Pegasus created a spring whose waters protected the muses and \u201cmade men wise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mexico could use a little more Pegasus these days. Last month, the New York Times<\/a> raised a ruckus in Mexico and abroad when it revealed<\/a> that President Enrique Pe\u00f1a Nieto\u2019s administration was using sophisticated spyware to keep watch over prominent journalists and human rights activists in the country.<\/p>\n

#SpyingGovernment, or the autocrat\u2019s apprentice<\/strong><\/p>\n

The spyware \u2013 known paradoxically as Pegasus \u2013 collects all communications of a targeted smartphone if the recipient opens a malicious link sent via text message. It is purportedly meant for fighting criminal organisations, such as drug cartels, and terrorism.<\/p>\n

The report spotlighted by the New York Times, which was also distributed through social networks under the hashtag #GobiernoEsp\u00eda<\/em> (#SpyingGovernment), was prepared by the Mexican NGOs Art\u00edculo 19<\/a>, R3D<\/a> and SocialTic<\/a>, with support from the Canada-based Citizen Lab<\/a>. It alleges that the Mexican government purchased over US$80 million worth of the spyware from the Israeli NSO Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n