XHCSAG-FM
Frequency101.9 MHz
BrandingVida Nueva
Ownership
OwnerLa Visión de Dios, A.C.
History
First air date
March 15, 2023 (2023-03-15)
Call sign meaning
(templated call sign)
Technical information
ClassA
ERP2.77 kW
HAAT82.5 m
Transmitter coordinates
21°0′34.6″N 89°32′15.2″W / 21.009611°N 89.537556°W / 21.009611; -89.537556
Links
Websitevidanuevaradiofm.com

XHCSAG-FM is a social radio station on 101.9 MHz in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. The station is owned by the civil association La Visión de Dios, A.C. (lit. 'The Vision of God' in Spanish) and began broadcasting in March 2023 under the name Vida Nueva (lit. 'New Life').

XHCSAG was one of the most contested concession awards in Mexican broadcasting history, in large part due to the name of the concessionaire, which fueled concerns about the use of the frequency for religious programming. Mexican law does not permit religious associations or registered pastors to hold broadcasting concessions.

History

Award

The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT)'s annual frequency program for 2017 included a social Class A assignment for Mérida. In the application window, three parties filed: La Visión de Dios, A.C., on October 2; Arte y Cultura por Solidaridad, A.C., on October 11; and Radio Tonatiuh, A.C., on October 12.[1]: 67  As the other two applicants already had one social station apiece (XHACS-FM in Playa del Carmen and the unbuilt XHCSAL-FM in Valladolid, Yucatán, respectively), the IFT approved the La Visión de Dios application.[2]

On May 29, 2019, Rebeca Chan Cámara, legal representative for La Visión de Dios, received the official paperwork at the IFT's Mexico City offices.[3] In a July interview with El Economista, her first with a national outlet, she explained that her plans to build a radio station stem from a plan to reduce drug addictions, which have affected people close to her; Yucatán leads the country in suicides.[4] The station was planned to sign on before the end of 2019 at a total construction cost of approximately 4 million pesos.[4]

Criticism

The name of the concessionaire, explicitly referencing God, made the La Visión de Dios award a lightning rod for criticism from media and legal analysts. Article 41 of the Ley de Asociaciones Religiosas y Culto Público contains an explicit prohibition on the ownership of mass media outlets by religious associations, with an exception for "printed publications of a religious nature". Florence Toussaint,[5] Jorge Bravo,[6] Gerardo Soria,[7] and other analysts decried the award, as did organizations including the Mexican Association for the Right to Information (AMEDI).[8] The IFT defended its actions in a statement, noting that its own research found that none of the members of La Visión de Dios were registered religious ministers and that it could not deny the application based on the name of the applicant.[9]

The award came amidst lobbying of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador by religious leaders, particularly the head of the National Brotherhood of Christian Evangelical Churches (Confraternice), to change the Ley de Asociaciones Religiosas and remove the religious media ownership ban. These proposals had met with negative reaction from lawmakers in the Senate.[10] Several social radio stations already carry religious programming, such as the stations owned by Fundación Cultural para la Sociedad Mexicana.[11]

In June, a local reporter from Novedades Yucatán attempted to locate the legal residence listed on the concession, in the Chichí Suárez neighborhood of Mérida, and found that the street on which the civil association claimed to be located was nonexistent;[12] however, Chan stated that the station's transmitter would be built on land she owns in that area.[4] Officials in Yucatán said they did not have any record of the incorporation of La Visión de Dios in the state.[12]

Sign-on

XHCSAG-FM began broadcasting on March 15, 2023, after delays attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic increasing wait times for the necessary aviation permits to build the tower.[13] The station had to get on air; it had already been granted a 180-day extension to begin broadcasting, and it signed on just days before the extension lapsed.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Versión estenográfica de la Décima Primera Sesión Ordinaria del Pleno del Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones" [Transcript of the 11th Ordinary Session of the Plenum of the Federal Telecommunications Institute] (PDF). April 10, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Resolución mediante la cual el Pleno del Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones determina al solicitante que es sujeto de otorgamiento de una concesión para usar y aprovechar bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico para prestar el servicio de radiodifusión sonora en Frecuencia Modulada, en la localidad de Mérida, Yucatán, respecto de tres solicitudes presentadas al amparo del Programa Anual de Uso y Aprovechamiento de Bandas de Frecuencias 2017" [Resolution by which the Plenum of the Federal Telecommunications Institute determines the applicant that is apt for the award of a concession to use spectrum to provide FM radio broadcasting in Mérida, Yucatán, with regard to three applications presented under the Annual Frequency Use Program 2017] (PDF) (in Spanish). Federal Telecommunications Institute. April 10, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Título de concesión para usar y aprovechar bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico para uso social que otorga el Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones a favor de La Visión de Dios, A.C." [Title of Concession to use and exploit bands of spectrum for social use awarded by the Federal Telecommunications Institute to La Visión de Dios, A.C.] (PDF). Public Registry of Concessions (in Spanish). Federal Telecommunications Institute. May 29, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Lucas, Nicolás (July 22, 2019). "No vamos a evangelizar con la 101.9 FM que ganamos en Mérida: La Visión de Dios" [We won't evangelize with the 101.9 FM we won in Mérida: La Visión de Dios]. El Economista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Concesión de TV a La Visión de Dios viola Constitución y Estado laico: Florence Toussaint" [TV [sic] concession to La Visión de Dios violates Constitution and lay State: Florence Toussaint]. 24 Horas (in Mexican Spanish). Notimex. June 12, 2019. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ Bravo, Jorge (June 21, 2019). "La Visión de Dios, A.C. y la ceguera del IFT para entregarle una concesión de radio FM en Mérida, Yucatán" [La Visión de Dios, A.C. and the blindness of the IFT to award it an FM radio concession in Mérida, Yucatán]. El Economista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Soria, Gerardo (June 19, 2019). "La -naturalmente laica- Visión de Dios" [The -naturally lay- Vision of God]. El Economista. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Organizaciones exigen al IFT que rectifique concesiones a "La visión de Dios"" [Organizations demand that the IFT rectify concessions to "La visión de Dios"]. Aristegui Noticias (in Spanish). June 17, 2019. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ Federal Telecommunications Institute (June 17, 2019). "Nota Informativa" [Informative Note] (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ Ramírez, Rafael (April 4, 2019). "Senadores rechazan que AMLO otorgue concesiones de Radio y TV a la Iglesia" [Senators reject AMLO awarding TV and radio concessions to the Church]. El Sol de México. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  11. ↑ Lucas, Nicolás (May 16, 2019). "Grupos religiosos consiguen primeras estaciones de radio en lo que va del gobierno de AMLO" [Religious groups obtain first radio stations in AMLO's government so far]. El Economista. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  12. 1 2 Cárdenas, Israel (June 18, 2019). "Yucatán: dan concesión a una sociedad 'fantasma'" [Yucatán: concession awarded to a 'ghost' society]. Novedades Yucatán (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Nuestra Historia" [Our History]. Vida Nueva (Facebook) (in Spanish). March 27, 2023. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023. ...quedando pendiente la aprobación de uso y estudio de áreas de servicio por parte de aeronáutica civil el cual debido a la pandemia mundial covid-19 tuvimos que esperar tres años más pero finalmente el 15 de marzo del año 2023 Nuestro sueño es una realidad.
  14. ↑ Lucas-Bartolo, Nicolás (March 30, 2023). "La Visión de Dios lanza al cielo de Mérida su estación "Vida Nueva 101.9 FM"" [La Visión de Dios puts "Vida Nueva 101.9 FM" into the air of Mérida]. El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved March 31, 2023.
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