User:Sammi Brie/Radio Plantón

Radio Plantón (Demonstration Radio) is a pirate radio station operating in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, usually on 92.3 MHz. It is operated by Section 22 of the CNTE and SNTE teachers unions, which is characterized by its radical stance and tendency to strike.

History
Radio Plantón began operations on 94.1 MHz on May 23, 2005. It later formally moved to 92.1 and then 92.3 MHz.

In Mexico, radio stations require a concession (or, formerly in the case of noncommercial stations, a permit) to broadcast. Stations lacking a concession, like Radio Plantón, may be seized by the federal government. Due to its political activism, Radio Plantón has been a particular target of harassment by federal and state authorities. The first time this occurred was during the 2006 Oaxaca protests. On June 14 of that year, during a breakup of a teachers' sit-in, police forces loyal to the state government destroyed its facilities, arresting three station workers and putting 34 programs off the air. Radio Plantón remained on the air via the internet, and until the federal police took the city on November 8, it also broadcast at low power on 92.5 MHz. On March 8, 2007, Radio Plantón returned to 92.1, broadcasting a teachers' march.

In 2006, and again in 2016, the state government has generated interference to Radio Plantón, requiring it to use Radio Universidad, the radio station of the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca, which is itself a pirate after its permit lapsed.

A civil association linked to Radio Plantón, Radio MDTEO, A.C., has attempted to legalize the station by applying for a permit to broadcast.

Programming
Radio Plantón provides a wide variety of alternative educational, social and informative programs.

In 2015, Section 22 used Radio Plantón and several affiliated stations, including the licensed XHZAA-FM in Villa de Zaachila, to broadcast messages calling for a boycott of the midterm elections held that year.