Meaning of Lobby

What is Lobbying:

Lobby is an Anglicism that literally means “room”, “lobby”, or “anteroom” and is used figuratively as a synonym for lobbying.

In its literal sense, the lobby It is a hall or lobby that is used in hotels, offices, restaurants, hospitals, residences, among others. Acts as a reception room, waiting room or living room.

Normally, in the lobby The individual has the first contact with the facility and can obtain information about the different services they offer. In this way, it also functions as a distribution area, since it separates environments or zones.

Lobby as lobbying

While lobbying, lobby refers to a group of influential personalities or institutions that exert pressure on matters of different kinds, especially political and legislative, in order to favor decisions favorable to their interests.

That is, the lobby It refers to those people who make a “prelude” to a certain option by creating conditions favorable to their intentions.

In this way, each sector or interest group seeks to form a lobby of influences to gain space within the decision-making processes.

He lobby or lobbying is not limited to the political sphere, but to all those environments where complex structures of social influence are formed, such as the cultural industry. Some others lobbies They represent union, environmental, arms, etc. interests.

The function of lobby It is wide. The lobbies They can fulfill consulting functions, carry out political tasks and communication strategies, among others.

In this sense, it is not surprising that within the lobbies There is the presence of senior former officials due to their experience and the contacts they have accumulated within their professional sphere.

In certain American countries, the lobbying or lobbying has been regularized in the legal system, as is the case of Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, the United States, among others. However, in public opinion the lobby has gained a pejorative connotation due to corruption scandals.

Lobby in Mexico

In 2010, Mexico joined the regularization of the lobby or lobbying, in this case the regulations define the activity as “any management activity, request or advice that is made before any deputy, body or authority of the Chamber, to obtain a resolution or agreement favorable to one’s own interests or from third parties, with whom you have professional, labor or business relationships.”

On the other hand, as a requirement lobbyists They must be registered at the beginning of each legislature, in a public registry and before the Board of Directors of the Lower House.

Gay lobby or pink lobby

It is known as gay lobby or pink lobby to groups fighting for gay civil rights. They tend to attribute great influence to them in the fashion and entertainment industry.