Mariel Garcia-Montes and Crofton Black share their stories and investigations that uncover the backdoor deals that allow the surveillance industry to thrive under the guise of ‘security’. If you have nothing to hide, you won’t mind if we spy, right?

More like this: REAL Resistance: The Global Fight Against Technocolonialism

This is REAL Resistance, a collection of conversations produced in collaboration with Real ML, featuring the experts and advocates who make up Real ML’s global network.

In this conversation, two guests from the network take us on a guided tour of the global underground surveillance tech market:

• Mexico is the world’s biggest importer of surveillance tech, and has a rich history of spying on citizens. Mariel Garcia-Montes briefs us on that history and what it means for Mexico now
• Surveillance technology represents a global industry that is mediated by exclusive conferences and backdoor deals; Crofton Black has spent years investigating this industry, the players, and the vulnerabilities they exploit

Further reading & resources:

• More about Mariel’s work
• Surveillance Secrets — Lighthouse Reports, 2025
• Ghost in the Network — Lighthouse Reports, 2023
• More on the Mexican Student Movement of 1968 — Eugenia Allier-Montano, 2022
• The Tierra Común Network, which Mariel invites any scholars and practitioners to join

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Computer Says Maybe is produced by Georgia Iacovou, Kushal Dev, Marion Wellington, Sarah Myles, Van Newman, and Zoe Trout