Breathe
By Julieta del Río, INAI Commissioner.
There is no doubt that the attacks directed against the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI) have increased in tone in recent weeks. Faced with this situation, which we regret, the Plenary of this Institute addresses with institutionalism and respect; the Commissioners will always be open to dialogue to explain and detail the functions of INAI and its relevance at the national and international level.
For more than two decades, Mexicans have fought for access to public information, to eliminate the secrecy and opacity of public institutions, and also to protect our personal data against abuses by public and private entities. Today, by law, 8,259 obligated subjects in the country must render accounts, which makes it possible to build transparent governments that generate trust among citizens, which consequently strengthens the quality of our democracy. Remembering this process and making it known to any authority that denigrates it is our civic obligation.
Today we live in a new era, as several citizen conquests have materialized to guarantee the right to know and the right to privacy. As a result of the inter-institutional collaboration between INAI, the General Archive of the Nation, INEGI, the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF) and the 32 local guarantor bodies, today we have a strong and united National Transparency System. Based on the autonomy of the national guarantor body (formerly IFAI, now INAI), we have made its resolutions binding and unassailable. In addition, the National Transparency Platform (PNT) has been strengthened, a technological tool and a national asset that enables the protected rights.
The growth of social interest in access to information and protection of personal data is evident; last year alone 1,104,127 requests for information were made and between January 1 and April 19, 2023 the number rises to 375,506. Although the culture of transparency has advanced in Mexico, so has opacity; there are institutions and agencies that present multiple irregularities (such as Segalmex) and that do the impossible in order not to deliver the information requested by the population (such as Cofepris, the Presidency of the Republic or Sedena).
Let us remember that INAI is the link between society and authorities to promote access to information; requests for information are not a personal matter, it is the population exercising its right to access public information, which is established in our Constitution and has been consolidated with social struggles of broad social sectors. INAI's powers are non-transferable and are clearly established in the Magna Carta; neither the Ministry of Public Administration (SFP) nor the Federal Superior Audit Office (ASF) can exercise them.
In these critical times, let us not give in to the disinformation promoted from the highest spheres of political power. Organizations such as INAI and its peers in the entities of the Republic watch over the right of society to be informed, and an uninformed society is easy prey to manipulation. Where the right to know what is public is supplanted by assumptions and lies, polarization weakens democracy.
On April 19, the members of INAI's Plenary sent an official request and invitation to the Secretary of the Interior to engage in dialogue. We have decided to defend the Institute with regulatory and technical arguments, while we wait for the Senate of the Republic to finalize the pending appointments or for the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) to grant the suspension so that the INAI Plenary can meet with a simple majority, that is, with four commissioners. We trust in Minister Loretta Ortiz Ahlf and in the autonomy of the Court.
We are grateful for all the expressions of solidarity we have received from society, journalists, academics, civil organizations, businessmen and international organizations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. INAI is on its feet and continues to work for Mexicans. I would also like to take this opportunity to invite citizens to continue requesting information, to continue using the National Transparency Platform. These rights do not stop because transparency, accountability and the protection of our privacy cannot be held hostage by anyone.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.
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