Mexico's Lamborghini-Loving Deputy Takes on Digital Hitmen
Antonio Flores Guerra, a Labor Party deputy in Coahuila, Mexico, proposes a reform to the Penal Code to classify and sanction digital and media violence, including cyberbullying and digital contract killing.
Politics and luxury cars – two things that seem as incompatible as a vegan in a steakhouse, and yet, here we are. The Labour Party (PT) deputy Antonio Flores Guerra, or “Tony” to his pals, has just driven a Lamborghini through the pothole-ridden streets of Múzquiz, a town in northern Coahuila where the sight of such opulence must have turned more heads than a Formula 1 parade. Now, Tony is no stranger to attention. He’s a coal baron-turned-politician, with a history more complicated than one of those spy thrillers where no one knows who’s on whose side.
But let’s start with the less glamorous, more sobering part of the story – Tony’s recent proposal to reform the Penal Code in Coahuila. In the hallowed halls of the State Congress, Flores Guerra made a stirring case for cracking down on the latest digital scourges: cyberbullying, hacking, and the charmingly named “digital contract killing.” Yes, we’ve arrived at a time when hiring a “hitman” to smear someone’s reputation online is not just a dirty trick, but a criminal offence that could land you behind bars for three to six years. The fines, if you’re curious, are somewhere between one and two thousand UMA units, which sounds like Monopoly money until you realize that in real life, UMA units cost you an arm and a leg.
