Televised Political Satire and the Democratic Transition in Mexico

In specific contexts both global changes and internal forces tend to push for and shape the creation of television satire. In different parts of the world different global trends have influenced the simultaneous development, importation, and reinterpretation of formats of television political satire. In Mexico, in the aftermath of the political transition there has been a growing presence of political satire programs in broadcast television listings and an increase in the size of the audiences that consume it and inform themselves through it. Observation of the qualities of political satire as an object of study provides the means with which to catch a glimpse of the freedoms allowed and, therefore, also of the constraints to which the expression of political opinion on television is subjected during a period of presumed democratic openness. Based on data from television recordings, secondary data sources, and literature on the object of study, this chapter aims to identify the particular features of political satire on television in Mexico, and generate a narrative about its development in the post-democratic period of transition that will make sense of the contribution to public life made by this type of media content.