Telecommunications in Times of Disasters: Emergency Communication, Public Discontent and Technological Change in Mexico, 1985–2017

This article compares the co-construction of telecommunication and crisis during the two Mexican earthquakes of 1985 and 2017. Overall, the disasters made existing deficiencies in access to landline telephones and to the internet more visible. In that sense, the quakes can be considered moments of tele(crisis) in Mexico. In both cases, the disasters provoked reflections on broader political and economic problems in Mexican society, such as social inequality, corruption and police violence. In Mexican historiography, the 1985 earthquake is considered a turning point for the rise of independent social movements. The interruption of telecommunications in 1985 affected the Mexican capital for months, which accelerated feelings of crisis as the political and economic centre of the country was cut off. By contrast, in 2017, the interruption of communication was less severe. In addition, the disaster left fewer victims and fewer destroyed buildings than in 1985. Mobile phones and social media offered new possibilities for organising emergency help and communicating news on the disaster. Finally, telecommunications were crucial for emergency help but also for communicating during the crisis and memory-making.