Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) plans to launch a new state-owned social media site to guarantee freedom of speech in the country. 

Pres. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
(Photo : Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, president of Mexico speaks during the announcement that Mexico and Argentina will produce the Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine at Palacio Nacional.

AMLO Plans To Create National Social Media Network

AMLO, as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is best known, floated the idea after it was reported that Twitter permanently banned former president Donald Trump's account in the social media platform for violating its policies.

According to a published article in We Are Mitu, AMLO intends to create a Mexican social network that will not be censored by Silicon Valley-based companies. AMLO is among those emerging Big Tech's vocal critics on the world stage.

AMLO already directed the National Council of Science and Technology and other government departments to look at the possibility of creating a national social media network, guaranteeing freedom of speech in Mexico.

Speaking at his daily news conference, the Mexican president said: "We care about freedom a lot, it's an issue that's going to be addressed by us." 

He added that Twitter and Facebook have become "global institutions" of censorship. 

Read also: AMLO Strictly Orders People to Practice Preventive Measures To Avoid COVID-19

AMLO Wants To Guarantee Freedom of Expression in Mexico

AMLO is promoting free speech and expression in the country, saying no one has the right to silence citizens even if their views are not popular. He said the suspension of Trump's accounts on Twitter and Facebook might happen to him as well.

Pres. Obrador, just like Trump, is an avid user of social media to connect with his people. He said: "Since they took these decisions [to suspend Trump], the Statue of Liberty has been turning green with anger because it doesn't want to become an empty symbol." 

Read also: Mexico's President to Provide COVID-19 Vaccines to Undocumented Immigrants in the US

What Will Be the Name of Mexico's Social Media Network?

After the Mexican President announced his plan of creating a state-owned social media, many Mexicans suggested names for such a site. One Twitter user suggested that it should be named Facemex or Twitmex.

Meanwhile, the news outlet Milenio came up with three different logos and names. The news outlet suggested a Mexican version of Facebook called Facebookóatl, which is inspired by the Aztec feathered-serpent god Quetzalcóatl. 

On the other hand, Twitter will be called Twitterlopochtli, a riff on the name of Aztec war, sun, and human deity Huitzilopochtli.

Instagram could become Instagratlán. The suffix "tlan," which in the Náhuatl language, means a place near an abundance of something - deer, for example, in the case of Mazatlán - is a common suffix in Mexican place names, according to Mexico News Daily.

Ramón Sánchez, a political consultant in the areas of technology and communication, said he doesn't have any doubt that Mexico can create its own social network.

Sánchez said Mexico could set an example for other countries and expressed concern about large social media companies' power to decide who should be silenced.

The plan to create a state-owned social media network has yet to be finalized, but one definite thing about it is that it will be regulated and controlled by the Mexican government.