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5 FEBRUARY 2010
Transparency Advances in Mexico. . . in Reverse
By Emilene Martínez Morales
Translated by Jesse Franzblau

Since the start of the year, President Felipe Calderón through actions undertaken by the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República – PGR) and the Secretariat of Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación - Segob), has shown a clear interest in weakening Mexico’s federal transparency oversight body (Instituto Federal al Acceso a la Información - IFAI) by proposing a separate tribunal to review IFAI’s decisions on FOI requests. More >>

Publicado originalmente en Español por / Originally published in Spanish for El Universal Blogs, México Infórmate.

7 OCTOBER 2009
Saber Mas: New Report on Access to Information in Latin America
Open government advocates offer first-hand accounts of FOI promotion in Latin America

Latin America’s leading open government advocates recently released a report, bringing together data from 17 countries and offering new findings on the status of freedom of information in the region. The Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression and Information (Alianza Regional para la Libertad de Expresión e Información), composed of 24 NGOs, released its report “Saber Mas,” (To Know More) on September 28, in celebration of International Right to Know Day 2009. More >>

25 SEPTEMBER 2009
The World Prepares for International Right To Know Day, 28 September 2009

The 7th International Right to Know Day on 28th of September 2009 will mark a year of historic advances for the right of access to information and will be celebrated by the Freedom of Information Advocate’s Network which has around 200 organisations in 75 countries who are calling for universal respect for the public’s right to know.  More >>

25 AUGUST 2009
US Torture Files and Access to Human Rights Information

By Jesse Franzblau and Emilene Martinez-Morales

Washington, DC — The US government’s August 24, 2009, release of a controversial CIA 2004 Inspector General report on torture brings new attention to the issue of how information on human rights abuses is treated and should be treated under freedom of information laws. More >>

19 JUNE 2009
Lessons from Media Coverage for the Right-to-Know in Latin America
In the last year or so, Latin America has been abuzz with news on right-to-know campaigns. But some countries have been buzzing louder than others. Uneven media attention to transparency policy is a global phenomenon with serious implications for institutional effectiveness, especially given the significant connection between news coverage and the strength of right to information laws. The supply and demand of media coverage for the right-to-know depends on myriad factors, but perhaps most crucial of all is the independence of the news media from the government. More >>

19 MAY 2009
Freedom of Information Legislation and the Media in Latin America
2008 was a big year for freedom of information movements in Latin America: three countries passed access to information laws last year (Uruguay, Chile, and Guatemala). Varying degrees of media attention, however, had a significant effect on the relative strength of each law. Examining the correlation between media output on the issue of transparency and the strength of corresponding laws in these countries and others, Michener discusses the prospects for Brazil, the next Latin American country poised to pass a law. More >>

News Archive

freedom of information

Transparency is a threshold issue affecting every other issue in Mexico today—issues such as social relations, the environment, education, corruption, state security, accountability, human rights, and democratic governance.

The access to information law passed in 2002 represents a vital element of Mexico’s democratic transition and has become a model worldwide. Mexico has set a new international standard for transparency legislation with the creation of a Federal Access to Information Institute (IFAI), charged with implementing and overseeing the law at the national level and Infomex, a website that allows users to file access to information requests electronically to federal and local government bodies.

Over 300,000 requests have been received since the law was implemented. In March 2007, a comprehensive reform of Article 6 of the Mexican Constitution was passed in the federal Congress, and within three months it was approved by a majority of state legislatures, signaling a major victory for the right-to-know movement in Mexico. It establishes principles of transparency and provides minimum standards for access to public information at the federal, state, and municipal levels.

LEARN MORE: chronology | further reading | excerpt from Global History

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NGOs and civil society

Colectivo por la Transparencia: a coalition of eleven Mexican organizations that work in transparency and freedom of information issues.

Derecho A Saber: a webpage dedicated to the right to know in Mexico. This site contains the latest FOI news and normative information about access to information at the federal and state levels.

IFAI — Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Public Information: This autonomous organization was established by Mexico’s freedom of information law to promote the transparency regime, monitor developments in open government and access to information, and settle disputes between citizens and government bodies over responses to FOI requests.

Infomex: Mexico’s web-based filing system allows citizens to make information requests to federal and local government entities.

Portal de Obligaciones de Transparencia (POT): Webpage that concentrates all public information that federal government agencies must proactively disclose electronically.

ZOOM: A keyword search engine where users can search for government responses to federal FOI users in Mexico, as well as IFAI resolutions.

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news archive

14 APRIL 2009
World Bank Releases Extremely Useful Reports on Access to Information Implementation
Over the past few months, the World Bank has recently published a series of extremely useful reports by experts on access to information laws. Using comparative case studies, together these reports provide an overview of the whole lifecycle of access to information (ATI) legislation, from adoption to implementation and enforcement. More >>

27 MARCH 2009
Documents in Action: FOI Success Stories in Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico – Mexico’s civil society have maximized the potential of its Federal Access to Information Law to affect policies in local communities, advocate for citizens’ rights, and expose corruption at the highest levels of State. Over 300,000 requests have been sent since the law was implemented in 2004. This article highlights some of the revelations made possible through the citizen requests sent through Mexico’s Federal Access to Information Law. More >>

13 FEBRUARY 2009
Guatemala Looks to Mexican Model for Access Implementation
On January 30, 2009, in a testament to Mexico’s frontrunner role in the global transparency movement, Guatemala’s Vice President Rafael Espada led an official delegation to lay the groundwork for future collaboration with officials from the Instituto Federal de Accesso a la Información Pública (IFAI), the forward-thinking governmental body in charge of implementing Mexico’s freedom of information law. More >>

15 MARCH 2007
MEXICO: Civil society observes first annual Mexico Abierto
During the week of March 11-17, Mexico's civil society is observing the first annual Mexico Abierto to promote an open dialogue on government transparency and the citizen's right to know. More >>

18 AUGUST 2006
MEXICO: Newsweekly Asks for Access to Contested Ballots, Uses Access to Information Act to Request Independent Count
In the spirit of the right to know Mexican newsweekly Proceso has requested access to documents, tally sheets and ballots pertaining to the July 2, 2006 presidential elections via four different requests through Mexico's Freedom of Information Law. More >>

14 JULY 2006
Using FOI Laws in Mexico in Defense of the Environment
Environmental groups in Mexico, from the southern state of Chiapas to Coahuila on the U.S. border, are actively using access to information laws to directly impact ecological policies. Over twenty prominent members of the environmental community in Mexico shared their experiences in the June 26 workshop "Documents in Action: How to Use Freedom of Information Laws in Defense of the Environment," an event organized by the National Security Archive and Mexican NGO Presencia Ciudadana and held in Mexico City. English - Español

FEBRUARY 2006
New Report: The IFAI and Mexico's Culture of Transparency
A new report, released on 20 February 2006, looks at the successes of the Mexican Federal Institute for Access to Public Information (IFAI) after 4 years in existence, finding IFAI to be a model institution for other countries. The report also identifies several weaknesses of IFAI and recommends strategies for guaranteeing its independence and expand its functions within the government.  Read the full report >>

9 JULY 2002
REPORT: In Mexico, a New Law Guarantees the Right to Know
Mexico is a country where a powerful executive branch has historically overshadowed a weak Congress, a dysfunctional judicial system and a malleable press ... For the longest time, the Mexican public has had no access to information about the most fundamental ways in which government affects daily life.  More >>

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