Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

showed some tolerance to criticism from cinema, but journalism fared worse, and co-
optation and repression continued against those who complained or criticised.
He was the first president to try to include young people in his cabinet, and
while some did not trust his intentions, others joined the government. This did not
change the policies, which were similar to previous administrations, but it did create a
new bureaucracy. Echeverría was also the first president to work closely with
intellectuals and artists, and his reasons were similar: he again sought to gain their
sympathy and prevent criticism.
This paradox of an apparent tolerance combined with cruel repression makes it
especially interesting to analyse the concerns and mood of the population using cultural
methods. According to Echeverría, nothing was forbidden, but we know that this was
not true. So, although films and comics enjoyed some freedom, the artists needed to be
cautious about what they said and how. Humour was a useful means in this sense, as we
will see in the following chapters.
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