Puebla government workers monitored for daily messages of praise for the state leader, a journalistic investigation reveals.
PUEBLA, Pue.- Alejandro Armenta Mier’s government has sparked controversy by acknowledging that it has asked state bureaucrats to post “likes,” positive comments, and praise for the Morena leader’s activities on social media.
After the Puebla government’s communications office claimed on September 15 that there were bot farms attacking Armenta Mier, between September 18 and 19, journalist Héctor Llorame and the news website e-Consulta revealed that the Armenta administration had incorporated a platform called Nódica to monitor bureaucrats’ daily messages of praise for the leader.
Journalist Ignacio Gómez Villaseñor revealed that the cyberactivismopuebla.mx domain, where the Nódica app operated, was registered 35 days earlier by the company Bitgob Ideas de Poder, S.A. de C.V., owned by political marketing specialist Francisco Javier Serrano González.
And on the same day this government “strategy” was revealed, the creator of the “Nódica” platform was found murdered inside his home in Toluca, State of Mexico.
Following this incident, the Office of the General Coordination of Social Communication and Digital Agenda issued a message of condolence in which Serrano González was recognized as a “member” of that agency.
However, in an interview with Azucena Uresti, José Tomé, head of the General Coordination of Social Communication and Digital Agenda, acknowledged that the Nódica platform had been used with Serrano González’s consent, but that there was no contract, nor had anyone been paid to use it, and that the slain businessman only collaborated on an “honorary” basis with the state government.
Without clarifying how the company handled the information provided by bureaucrats, Tomé defended this strategy by asserting that it was not mandatory, nor was there any pressure, and that the incorporation was “voluntary.”
“It is a priority of the Puebla government to respect the human and labor rights of those who work there,” the official stated. “I can assure you that there has not been a single formal complaint or grievance in which a worker complains about this type of digital activation… If any worker feels harassed at any given time, we can discuss it. There is no pressure or condition for them to keep their job.”
Tomé explained that this type of digital operation is a tool used in government and private institutions to strengthen “the sense of identity and belonging” and maintained that it is not intended to promote anyone personally and that no public resources are used in this strategy.
On the Nódica platform, which was deactivated after the murder of Serrano Martínez, employees at 82 state agencies were asked for links to their Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and TikTok accounts, as well as to confirm their voluntary participation in this “network activation.”
According to testimonies, bureaucrats were required to activate the platform at least three times a week and upload the tokens to the platform to verify that they were meeting their quota of praise and likes.
e-Consulta revealed that the person in charge of this strategy was Fansel Miroslava Pastor, niece of the current Attorney General of Puebla, Idamis Pastor Betancourt. Although she assured the communication liaisons of 17 ministries, 15 universities, 36 colleges and institutes, 4 committees, 26 councils, and 16 funds and trusts that it was not mandatory, reports were made on which agencies were complying with the activation.
This media outlet released a video explaining how the Nódica app operated, so that the communication liaisons could replicate it with the employees in each area.
According to the employees, after Nódica was deactivated, they are still required to provide screenshots of posts, “likes,” or “shares” through WhatsApp groups.
Some examples of the messages reproduced in the Puebla governor’s posts include, among others, “Excellent work, Governor,” “May the successes continue,” “How proud we are of our governor,” “This demonstrates your closeness and great work, Governor,” and “Very well, Mr. Governor Armenta. It’s good to inform the citizens.”
Source: Proceso
