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18 December 2013
By Mariana Mas Mas works for the Uruguayan group DATA. This year the Uruguayan FOI act was reformed, but the path to the reform wasn’t an easy road, it meant different struggles between the Senators, the organized civil society (OSC) and the official body in charge on the control of FOI. In August of […]
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7 October 2013
The Senate in Uruguay has delayed making controversial modifications to the freedom of information law. A budget bill approved before by the Representatives Chamber contained an article (Article 37) to make changes to the law. The Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (CAINFO) and other civil society groups opposed the amendments as regressive. […]
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16 September 2013
Uruguay is considering expanding the exemptions in its freedom of information law, with the Senate now working on government proposals being called “regressive” by groups fighting the changes. Among other things, the bill would allow less access to documents used to develop policy and to evaluation documents. The Uruguayan Senate is in the process of considering […]
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12 July 2013
The government of Uruguay has proposed more protection for documents creating during the deliberative process. The proposal would permit the government to prevent disclosure “until the respective decision is adopted.” The change is one of three proposed amendments to the 2008 law sent to Parliament, according to an article in El Pais (in Spanish). Two […]
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29 March 2013
Uruguay’s Supreme Court of Justice has unanimously dismissed a law suit brought by cable TV companies fighting the disclosure of the number of subscribers they have. The court rejected arguments that the Law on Access to Public Information is unconstitutional in a March 15 decision (in Spanish) described here (in Spanish). The Uruguayan Press Association […]
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31 January 2013
The Uruguay Access to Information Unit has issued a ruling requiring government agencies to accept electronic requests for information. The ruling follows the creation of a website by the Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (CAINFO) the filing of information requests. (See previous FreeedomInfo.org report.) The group describes the new policy nd provides […]
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1 October 2012
The Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (CAINFO) in Uruguay has created a website for the filing of information requests. The portal “allows access to order public information quickly and easily, facilitating the use of this right to all citizens,” according to the nonprofit organization, founded in 2009. The effort is the result […]
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19 September 2012
Eduardo Bonomi, the Minister of the Interior of Uruguay, has issued five resolutions establishing the secrecy of information related to police activities. The resolutions would prevent disclosure of information concerning procedures for combating crime, including information on the use of resources. Information on the location of the policy stations is also given protection. Also classified […]
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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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13 May 2011
A Consultative Council of the Law on Access to Public Information has just been created in Uruguay. This advisory and consultative body brings together representatives from the academia, the government and the civil society. The council was mandated by the FOI law. “It institutionalizes participation and it has an important advocacy strategy to impact on […]
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13 August 2010
The Uruguay government has published a decree regulating the use of the Law on Access to Public Information (Law 18.381), according to newspaper stories and a report by the Knight Center. The Archives and Access to Public Information Center launched a campaign, “Make Your Own Request.” The Knight Center wrote: According to the decree, whenever public […]
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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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26 May 2009
The “minutes” of the World Bank’s executive board meetings, released publicly, are brief notations of the official action, usually one paragraph. They reveal almost nothing about what transpired during the closed deliberations. The “summaries,” by contrast, describe the key points of discussion. They condense, without names, the comments made by the executive directors. The […]
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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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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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1 January 2003
The leak of a usually secret document describing the terms of a recent World Bank loan to Uruguay has stoked public anger at conditions attached to the loan, according to activists and journalists there. The release also showed how much crucial information was being withheld from the public. The document signed by Uruguay’s finance minister […]
