(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 2 May 2002 IAPA press release: IAPA pleased with Mexico’s first step to open access to public information Miami (May 2, 2002) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) is pleased with the passing of the Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information in Mexico, designed to strengthen […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 2 May 2002 IAPA press release:
IAPA pleased with Mexico’s first step to open access to public information
Miami (May 2, 2002) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) is pleased with the passing of the Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information in Mexico, designed to strengthen freedom of the press and of expression, as well as guarantee the public’s right to information.
IAPA President Robert J. Cox, noted that, “the law, approved by Congress on April 30, is a good beginning because it allows citizens to access documents and information held by the State.”
Nevertheless, he recognized that “much needs to be done to make certain that all Mexican citizens will have access to information when they request it.” Cox added, “it will be a big challenge to change the attitude of public officials to understand that they are not the owners of information, but rather that it belongs to the people for their own use.”
In addition, Cox, assistant editor of The Post and Courier, in Charleston, South Carolina, stated, “the approval of this law in Mexico follows a recent law in Panama approved last January, requiring officials to report on their decisions and actions to the public, and at the same time it attempts to bring an end to corruption. We hope that this initiative is repeated by other nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the lack of access to public information severely restricts the public’s right to information.”
Rafael Molina, the hemispheric organization’s Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, pointed out some deficiencies in the law. He referred specifically to the lack of clarity in regards to the manner in which information will be made available to the public.
Molina, publisher of Ahora magazine, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, also stated that, “the creation of official entities, such as liaison units, committees on information, and the Federal Institute on Access to Public Information, established in the law, increases bureaucracy, complicates the process and the immediacy, instead of making each department head accountable, for example.”
He also pointed out that the law does not allow the possibility for the public to be present at hearings or deliberations of the Executive Branch or the Courts, in which final decisions are made. “For someone to find out what is happening during a trial, they will have to wait until the very end, or rather, the ruling as stated in the law,” explained Molina.
IAPA officers believe that the legislators should have taken advantage of the opportunity to establish stricter or clearer sanctions against officials that do not comply with the spirit of the law. However, the IAPA acknowledged that the organization will remain vigilant over the law’s implementation and enforcement before assessing its impact.
