Mexico
What's New
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28 September 2016
The amendments to Mexico’s freedom of information law have made it the best access law in the world, according to the RTI Rating, a comparative assessment of national legal frameworks for the right to information done by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and Access Info Europe. The changes gave Mexico 136 points out […]
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3 March 2016
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has expressed reservations about a provision in the new Mexican freedom of information law. The comments are included in a report entitled “The Human Rights Situation in Mexico.” “Although the Law contains a prohibition against hiding or denying information related to gross human rights violations, the Commission points out […]
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freedom of information: overview
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: in-depth overview | news archive | ngos | chronology | further reading | excerpt from Global Survey
NGOs and civil society
Colectivo por la Transparencia: a coalition of eleven Mexican organizations that work in transparency and freedom of information issues.
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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17 December 2015
Mexico’s Information Commission has gone to court to challenge as unconstitutional the freedom of information law in the State of Queretaro. The National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI) voted to bring a case before the Supreme Court of Justice challenging the law issued in early November, The state […]
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25 November 2015
The Mexican Senate Nov. 18 easily approved a Federal Law of Transparency and Access to Information that civil society groups argue contradicts some elements of the underlying “general law” on FOI. Ana Cristina Ruelas, Program Officer Access to Information Article 19, said the bill will prevent the commissioners of the National Institute for Access to […]
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2 October 2015
The Mexican government “is failing to live up to its obligations” to disclose information about loans from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, according to a new report by a Mexican nongovernmental organization. To reach this conclusion, Mariana González Armijo of Fundar Centro de Análisis e Investigación evaluated responses to test requests. She […]
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7 May 2015
The new Mexican General Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information (LGTAIP) entered into force May 5, according to an announcement by the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) which is changing its name to National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI). The announcement […]
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30 April 2015
Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) has called for advice on how the government can be not only more open, but more collaborative with citizens. IFAI’s mandate includes more than implementing the freedom of information law and extends to promoting citizen participation, according to the April 27 announcement (in Spanish). […]
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29 April 2015
By Ana Cristina Ruelas Serna and David Mora The authors work at ARTICLE 19, Mexico and Central America. On April 16th, the Mexican Congress finally approved the General Transparency Law, making progress in adjusting the current legal framework to the standards ordered by the Constitutional reform approved in February 2014. The final text did not include […]
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19 March 2015
The Mexican Senate on March 18 approved a new access to information bill. The final bill does not include 77 of the 81 last-minute amendments urged by the government which had aroused strenuous objections, according to the Alejandro Gonzalez, the Executive Director of a Mexican civil society organization, Gestión Social y Cooperación (GESOC.) Gonzalez had […]
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18 March 2015
By David Mora The author works for Article 19 in Mexico. On Feb. 19, Ana Cristina Ruelas of Article 19 wrote here on the contradiction of Mexico holding Open Government Partnership’s lead chair while the Mexican President pressed the Senate for regressive regulations in the General Transparency Law currently on discussion. In that entry, we […]
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21 February 2015
In a highly unusual move, the civil society co-chairs on the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee have criticized the Mexican government, the overall OGP lead chairman, for proposing to undercut the Mexican freedom of information law. The Feb. 21 statement came after Mexican civil society groups blasted the Mexican government, but was a rare public […]
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19 February 2015
By Ana Cristina Ruelas The author is the Right to Information Program Officer at ARTICLE 19, México and Central America Mexico became the lead chairman of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on 2014, although we are far from openness. The government’s rhetoric is all about transparency and co-creation but in their offices they are pushing us […]
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24 December 2014
By Jesse Franzblau The author filed an information request as part of the Migration Declassified project with the National Security Archive, resulting in the IFAI judgment described here. Federal prosecutors in Mexico have made the first official disclosure of investigative files concerning state complicity in the country’s 2010–11 migrant massacres in San Fernando. In August […]
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24 December 2014
By Emi MacLean & Adriana García This article appeared Dec. 15 in an Open Society Foundations blog in English and Spanish. The authors work for the Open Society Justice Initiative. It is a measure of the contradictions of Mexico’s political system that the wave of public outrage over the disappearance and presumed murder of […]
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18 December 2014
Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI) has ordered the disclosure of the database of the National Registry of Professionals. Commissioner Areli Cano Guadiana also said that greater accessibility should be provided. (See order, in Spanish) The IFAI said sensitive personal data should be exempted from disclosure, including addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. […]
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11 December 2014
Transparency advocates in Mexico are concerned about a provision in pending legislation that could be used to sanction public officials who disclose or order the disclosure of information. The controversial provision was added late in the process to a package that Congress is considering to flesh the constitutional FOI reforms approved earlier this year. (See […]
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7 October 2014
By Jesse Franzblau and Emi MacLean Franzblau is a writer working with the National Security Archive, an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. MacLean is a legal officer for freedom of information and expression with the Open Society Justice Initiative. This article first appeared Sept. 25 on […]
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11 September 2014
The following report on the new law in the Mexican state of Coahuila was prepared by the state information commission. Along our history and mainly in the last decade, the Mexican society is fighting to demonstrate its indeclinable will of progressing in our country’s democratic life, developing and strengthening the fundamental principles of plurality, freedom of expression […]
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28 August 2014
By Jesse Franzblau This report first appeared in Migration Declassified on Aug. 20. Franzblau is a policy analyst working on freedom of information projects in an independent capacity. He specializes in the use of FOI laws in Latin America, and is a regular contributor to the Migration Declassified project. Mexico’s federal migration agency has for the […]
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15 August 2014
Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) has established six working committees, each headed by a commissioner. In a meeting with the heads of the Liaison Units from the agencies and entities from the Public Federal Administration, the commissioners of IFAI presented the Working Committees created to address the new responsibilities and powers […]
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7 August 2014
Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) has ordered Pemex Exploration and Production to disclose information on major contracts. PEP should provide information on four large contracts with the company Seadrill for exploratory oil drilling, IFAI determined. Commissioner Joel Salas Suarez said the oil company gave incomplete and contradictory answers, denying […]
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30 May 2014
By Michael Evans and Jesse Franzblau Evans and Franzblau work at the National Security Archive. This report first appeared May 29 in Migration Declassified. Can the Mexican government continue to hide evidence from the public about grave human rights atrocities? A pair of access to information cases now moving through the Mexican justice system may put […]
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19 May 2014
Ximena de la Puente Mora has been unanimously elected by the other six commissioners as the president of the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI). She was elected for a three year term at the first meeting of the expanded commission, whose members were recently selected by the Senate. The wholesale […]
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2 May 2014
A new report on state freedom of information laws in Mexico delves into the quality of the 32 state laws, finding more than half of them deficient. The detailed index by the nongovernmental organization Fundar looks at three main categories: regulatory provisions, institutional design and the process to access public information. Of the 32 states, […]
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1 May 2014
The Mexican Senate April 30 selected the seven new commissioners for the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI). All seven candidates got more than 100 votes, above the two-thirds needed (74). There were objections that politics had trumped expertise in the decision-making (See CNN report). One of those selected, Eugenio Monterrey […]
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25 April 2014
Twenty-five persons have been advanced for seven seats on Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI). An expert committee chose them from 147 candidates after a series of hearings and announced the nonbinding list (below) April 21. Final selection requires the votes of two-thirds of the Senate and approval by President […]
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11 April 2014
Por Jesse Franzblau El Senado de México ha terminado el proceso de evaluar 158 aspirantes, siete de los cuales estarán en el fundo de decisiones cruciales con respecto al gobierno abierto y el derecho a la verdad. Para los activistas por la transparencia y defensores de derechos humanos, la selección de los siete asientos del […]
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7 April 2014
By Jesse Franzblau This report was posted April 4 on Migration Declassified. It is the second in a series on Mexico’s FOI reforms and information relating to migrant rights. See first report in English, Spanish. Mexico’s Senate is now in the process of selecting the country’s new information commissioners who will be at the center of […]
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4 April 2014
By Michael Evans and Jesse Franzblau The following article was published March 28, 2014 in Migration Declassified, a project of the National Security Archive. In a case that with important ramifications both for access to information and for human rights investigations in Mexico, a federal judge declared last week that the country’s information commissioners can and should […]
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4 April 2014
Por Michael Evans y Jesse Franzblau Este artículo fue publicado 28 de marzo 2014 en Animal Político. En un caso de suma importancia con respecto al acceso a la información e investigaciones sobre derechos humanos en México, un juez federal declaró la semana pasada que los comisionados de IFAI pueden y están obligados determinar si […]
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10 March 2014
By Michael Evans and Jesse Franzblau This article first appeared March 7 in Migration Declassified, a project of the National Security Archive, the parent organization of FreedomInfo.org. Clearing the decks after a recent overhaul of Mexico’s transparency regime, the Mexican Senate last week rejected a request by the current group of Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI) […]
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28 February 2014
The Mexican Senate has rejected the requests of the four current commissioners of the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) to stay in office. The four commissioners — Sigrid Arzt, Maria Elena Perez-Jaen, Angel Trinidad Zaldivar and Gerardo Laveaga (the chairman) – will likely be gone by the first week in […]
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14 February 2014
President Enrique Peña Nieto on Feb. 7 signed into law the new transparency reforms strengthening the Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI). The signing came at a ceremony. See reports (in Spanish) in CNN and El Universal. In an interview on CNN Miguel Pulido of FUNDAR welcomed the reform as “a message that we […]
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29 January 2014
Having achieved sufficient support from the Mexican states, amendments to the Mexican Constitution making changes to the freedom of information law are another step closer to implementation. Eighteen state Congresses have ratified the reforms. The next stage, which could take a year, is for the Senate to write the implementation rules which later much be […]
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27 November 2013
The Mexican House of Representatives by a vote of 424-16 Nov. 26 endorsed legislation recently approved by the Senate to amend the freedom of information law. Among other things, the legislation provides full autonomy to the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Protection of Data (IFAI) , the regulatory and implementation authority. The members […]
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22 November 2013
By Jesse Franzblau On Nov. 20, Mexico’s senate passed new reforms to the country’s transparency system, approving modifications and establishing greater autonomy for the country’s information oversight body – the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Protection of Data (IFAI). After a process that lasted more than a year and involved significant amendments, revisions, […]
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12 November 2013
By Alejandro Martínez This article was published Nov. 11 on the Knight Center Journalism in the Americans blog. After decades of a culture of virtually impenetrable secrecy within the Mexican government, in 2002 Mexico passed the Federal Access to Information and Personal Data Protection Act. Since then, it has become an often-cited model of how other […]
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25 August 2013
The Mexican House of Delegates on Aug. 22 overwhelmingly approved freedom of information legislation after a modification was made to a controversial provision that activists had said would undermine positive reforms. The House bill still would permit the government’s top legal official to ask the Supreme Court to override decision of Federal Institute for Access to […]
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22 August 2013
Supporters of Mexico‘s freedom of information law are slamming a legislative change approved by several congressional committee that would make the Supreme Court the final legal authority in some instances instead of the Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI). In a statement issued Aug. 21, the Transparency Collective and México Informate, a coalition 15 […]
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23 May 2013
By Guillermo Ávila Ávila is a researcher at Fundar, Center of Analysis and Research. As perhaps you already know, one of the main proposals of the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, during the presidential campaign was a very deep and comprehensive reform to foster the transparency policy in Mexico. He actually presented a bill, through […]
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7 March 2013
Right to information laws “will accomplish little” in poor countries, according to the author of new World Bank study, “unless concerted efforts are made to address the broader enabling environment, and appropriate capacity building strategies are devised.” The report by Anupama Dokeniya is based on individual research studies of implementation in eight countries: Albania, […]
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28 January 2013
The inauguration of Gerardo Laveaga as the new head of the Federal Institute of Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) was accompanied by strong criticisms from a fellow commissioner. Commissioner Angeles Trinidad Zaldivar called Laveaga “inexperienced and lazy.” In a Jan. 21 speech at the event, he said Laveaga has outstanding 291 matters before […]
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21 December 2012
The Mexican Senate on Dec. 20 unanimously approved amendments to the freedom of information law, increasing the powers of the FOI oversight body. Under the legislation, supported by new president Enrique Peña Nieto, the Federal Institute of Access to Information (IFAI) would gain new autonomy, with its decisions made binding. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) This […]
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12 November 2012
The Mexican Senate is considering significant changes to the Mexican freedom of information regime, most considered positive by FOI advocates, and getting to the stage where the specifics are being debated. The drafting of constitutional amendments and legislation is under way behind the scenes, according to several close observers of the process. The three major […]
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16 August 2012
The Mexican government has expanded its Open Government Partnership national action plan beyond the first one created last September, incorporating more suggestions from civil society. The Expanded Action Plan (in English) presented during a press conference in Mexico City June 6 includes 36 commitments to advance transparency and accountability that must be met by September 2012. “The […]
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23 April 2012
The Mexican Senate has approved the appointment of Gerardo Laveaga as a commissioner of the Federal Institute of Access to Information, notwithstanding doubts about his experience and independence raised by nongovernmental organizations. A coalition of 11 groups had opposed his nomination saying it violated Article 35 of the Mexican freedom of information law, which states that […]
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22 September 2011
The Mexican commitments made in its Open Government Partnership action plan promise a range of information disclosures about government services, release of databases and creation of online windows for commercial and corporate transactions, among other things. Mexico is one of the founding members of the partnership, officially kicked off in New York City Sept. 20. […]
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25 August 2011
Efforts by the eight conveners of the Open Government Partnership to draft their national “action plans” are slowly emerging, according to a FreedomInfo.org survey. However, in most countries the development of a plan does not appear to involve the wide public consultation called for in the “road map” for OGP aspirants to follow. In the […]
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24 June 2011
Proposed amendments toMexico’s freedom of information law are “stuck,” according to activists, who believe that no legislative action is likely this year because of the 2012 elections . Congress has gone in the recess until September, after opposition from several key legislators and the Treasury ministry stalled progress on the bill, sources said. The bill […]
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24 June 2011
An extensive new report examines access to information policies and practices in seven Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. The report is titled “?Venciendo la Cultura del Secreto. Obstáculos a la implementación de políticas y normas de acceso a la información en la región?” (“Overcoming the culture of secrecy. Obstacles […]
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24 May 2011
A major study in Mexico has identified a variety of non-legal factors that facilitate a strong transparency system. The results were presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) Researchers from the Mexican Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) looked […]
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12 May 2011
By Gabriela Ruiz Visiting researcher at The National Security Archive and FOIA Officer at the Chiapas Access to Information Institute Reforms to the Mexican Federal Law of Transparency and Access to Information are stalled in the Congress because of objections from some lawmakers. They are criticizing amendments that would give more power to the Federal […]
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7 April 2011
By Gabriela Ruiz Visiting researcher at The National Security Archive and FOIA Officer at the Chiapas Access to Information Institute The México Infórmate FOI advocates network celebrated its second annual meeting in Cancún March 17-18, trading success stories and planning strategy. The Mexico Infórmate network integrates members of the media, civil society, and local government ministries. […]
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7 April 2011
By Gabriela Ruiz Visiting researcher at The National Security Archive and FOIA Officer at the Chiapas Access to Information Institute On March 16, the Mexico Infórmate network unveiled its 2010 Yearbook, which showcases the activities celebrated during the second annual México Infórmate week (Mexico Get Informed) on Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2010. During the week, freedom […]
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1 April 2011
A handful of potentially harmful proposals to change the Mexican freedom of information law were defeated March 30 as a key congressional committee approved a package of more positive reforms. Although approval by several other committees and the full lower body of Congress still lies ahead, and activists are concerned about the possible opposition from […]
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7 January 2011
Mexico: A new video documentary on FOI in Mexico has just been released, entitled ¿Qué Pasó con mi Dinero? / What happened to my Money? Spanish version, here: http://www.fundar.org.mx/indicepresupuestoabierto2010/index.html Version with English subtitles, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTZSt25if4E&feature=related United States: The new U.S. effort to put out more information about aid flows is discussed on the Aid Watchers […]
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17 November 2010
Open government advocates have something to celebrate in Mexico this week, as the legislature approved a budget over the weekend of Nov. 13-14 that avoids the severe cutbacks that threatened the independent federal institute that implements Mexico’s widely-praised access-to-information law. The institute, known by its initials IFAI (Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información), faced a cutback of […]
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1 October 2010
Budget cuts proposed by the Mexican president would degrade the activities of the Federal Access to Information Institute (IFAI), according to comments made as supporters of the Mexican access to information law conducted dozens of workshops and other activities this week. News about developments in Mexico is available on the Mexico Informate website. The president’s […]
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17 February 2010
By Lilia Saúl Rodríguez (liliasaul@gmail.com) Translated by Jesse Franzblau (Disponible en español) www.twitter.com/liliasaul On October 11th, 2001, the Oaxaca Group (an alliance of academics and journalists) presented the Federal Access to Information Law (Ley Federal de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información) to the Commission on Governance and Public Security in Mexico’s House of Representatives. In […]
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17 February 2010
Por Lilia Saúl Rodríguez (liliasaul@gmail.com) www.twitter.com/liliasaul El 11 de octubre del 2001, el Grupo Oaxaca (que reunió a académicos y periodistas) presentaba la propuesta de Ley Federal de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información ante la Comisión de Gobernación y Seguridad Pública de la Cámara de Diputados. En las imágenes, disponibles ahora en el documental […]
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5 February 2010
Por Emilene Martínez Morales (emilene@mexicoinformate.org) http://www.twitter.com/mxinformate En lo que va del año el Gobierno Federal, a través de la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) y la Secretaría de Gobernación (Segob), ha manifestado un claro interés en debilitar al Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Pública (IFAI) al proponer que se le den facultades […]
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5 February 2010
By Emilene Martínez Morales (emilene@mexicoinformate.org) Translated by Jesse Franzblau (Disponible en español) http://www.twitter.com/mxinformate 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 […]
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2 December 2009
The goal of strengthening the media as one way to fight corruption was adopted by the World Bank in 2006, but the promise has gone virtually unfulfilled, according to research by freedominfo.org.
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7 October 2009
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 […]
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25 August 2009
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. Deadlines set by a federal […]
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19 June 2009
By Greg Michener 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 […]
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19 May 2009
By Greg Michener 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), officially institutionalizing the publics right to know. Varying degrees of media attention, however, had a significant effect on the relative strength of each law. I have […]
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14 April 2009
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 life cycle of access to information (ATI) legislation, from adoption to implementation and enforcement. One report examines the role of civil society groups in the formulation and adoption of access to information laws in Bulgaria, India, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Another examines the institutional and logistical nuts-and-bolts of implementation, using Mexico as a case study, while the third report looks at models of enforcement in several countries: South Africa, Mexico, Scotland, India, and Hungary.
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27 March 2009
By Peter Kornbluh Special thanks to Marianna Enamoneta, Emilene Martinez-Morales, Carly Ackerman, Joshua Frens-String and Yessica Esquivel Alonso On April 20th, Chile will become the most recent country to have a functioning Freedom of Information Act—and potentially establish a leading model for new access to information laws around the world. The new “Law of Transparency […]
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20 March 2009
By Emilene Martinez-Morales 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. Openness advocates have utilized two key institutional features of Mexico’s access-to-information system. The electronic system […]
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13 February 2009
By Jesse Franzblau Mexico City, Mexico – On January 30, 2009, in a testament to Mexicos frontrunner role in the global transparency movement, Guatemalas 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 Informacin Pblica (IFAI), the forward-thinking governmental […]
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28 September 2008
Washington, D.C., September 28, 2008 – Today’s celebration of International Right-to-Know Day marks a new watershed in the global reach of freedom of information laws – now on the books in more than 80 countries – and features celebrations in countries ranging from Mexico to Moldova, according to postings today on the www.freedominfo.org virtual network […]
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28 September 2008
Silvina Acosta – Program Manager, Trust for the Americas Emilene Martínez-Morales – Transparency Programs Coordinator, National Security Archive Washington DC, – The Right to Know made headlines in Latin America during the past year. Just a few days ago the Guatemalan Congress approved an Access to Information Law. Chile’s Transparency and Access to Information Law […]
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18 January 2008
The Global Transparency Initiative has expressed concern about the decision by they International Monetary Fund to postponement review of the IMF Transparency Policy, originally scheduled for 2008. GTI wrote to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dec. 17 after learning from the IMF’s External Relations Department that the next review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy, originally […]
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12 December 2007
Open Sessions Include NGO Participation; Commissioners Plan Future Cooperation By Kristin Adair for freedominfo.org Information commissioners, government officials, and civil society representatives from around the world met at the 5th International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) in Wellington, New Zealand, November 26-29. The four-day conference consisted of one day of closed meetings for the commissioners, […]
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20 June 2007
By Thoralf Schwanitz According to the first statistics published by the German Freedom of Information Commissioner, the federal administration is still struggling to adapt to the new openness required by Germany’s Freedom of Information Act, which entered into force on January 1, 2006. The new data also show that usage of the new law has […]
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18 August 2006
By Emilene Martínez Morales and Jesse Franzblau, National Security Archive’s Mexico Project Editing Assistance Farrah Hassen and Michael Baney 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 […]
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14 July 2006
Emilene Martinez-Morales para freedominfo.org Coordinadora de Programas de Transparencia, Proyecto Mexico, National Security Archive, George Washington University Inglés Grupos ambientalistas en México, desde el estado de Chiapas hasta Coahuila, están utilizando exitosamente la leyes de acceso a información impactando directamente políticas relacionadas con la ecología. El trabajo de estas organizaciones ha arrojado información clave en […]
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14 July 2006
Español 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. Their work has shed light on the controversial La Parota Dam project in the state of Guerrero and uncovered irregularities in the administration of water services […]
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20 January 2006
Mexico established a landmark precedent for the application of national freedom of information laws to the activities of international institutions when its Information Commission on Nov. 16, 2005 ordered the disclosure of documents related to a $108 million World Bank loan to the state of Guanajuato, México. The decision by the Federal Institute for Access […]
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6 October 2005
The International Monetary Fund has taken steps that may reduce the number of deletions made in the publicly disclosed versions of its key reports about member countries, including the significant Article IV reports. The moves come after an internal report found that more than one-third of the published reports “incorporate substantive changes” as a result […]
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28 September 2005
Since 2002, freedom of information advocates around the world have been working together to promote the right of access to information for all people and recognize the benefits of transparent and accountable governments. We use this day as a way to share ideas, strategies and success stories about the development of freedom of information laws […]
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5 December 2003
The Inter-American Development Bank and Plan Puebla-Panama Journalist Wendy Call reports on the controversy over the IDB’s multi-billion-dollar development plan for southern Mexico and Central America, with specific attention to information access, public consultation, and participation of stakeholders (and the lack thereof). On September 17, 2003, a representative of the Inter-American Development Bank in Guatemala, […]
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11 October 2003
by Thomas Blanton The International Herald Tribune, October 11, 2003, p. 6 Last month (September 23, 2003), Armenia became the 51st country in the world to guarantee its citizens the right to know what their government is up to. Armenia’s new freedom of information law is the latest outpost of the worldwide movement towards opening […]
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9 July 2002
By Kate Doyle <kadoyle@gwu.edu>, Senior Analyst and director of the Mexico Project, National Security Archive Mexico is a country where a powerful executive branch has historically overshadowed a weak Congress, a dysfunctional judicial system and a malleable press. Its citizens are unaccustomed to demanding – and receiving – their rights. For the longest time, the […]
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1 June 2002
Some 20 countries are about to embark on pilot programs with the World Bank in which they will disclose and disseminate more information than they have in the past – that is, more than what Bank policy currently requires. The exact dimensions of this effort will become clearer once the Bank makes an official announcement […]
