2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - Mexico
Text from the freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World, by David Banisar (updated 12 May 2004)

Article 6 of the 1997 Constitution says in part, "the right of information is guaranteed by the state."(1)

The Federal Transparency and Access to Public Government Information Law was unanimously approved by Parliament in April 2002 and signed by President Fox in June 2002. (2) The law went into effect in June 2003.

The law allows all persons to demand information from government departments, autonomous constitutional bodies and other government bodies. Agencies must respond to requests in 20 working days.

The law creates five categories of classified information. For these categories, information can be withheld if their release will harm the public interest. These include information on national security, public security or national defense; international relations; financial, economic or monetary stability; life, security or health of any person at risk; and verification of the observance of law, prosecution of crimes, collection of taxes, immigration or strategies in pending processes. There are an additional six categories of exempted information. These are information protected by another law, commercial secrets, prior investigations, judicial or administrative files prior to a ruling, liability proceedings before a ruling, deliberative process prior to a final decision. Information can only be classified for 12 years or less if the reasons for nondisclosure no longer exist. Information relating to "the investigation of grave violations of fundamental rights or crimes against humanity" may not be classified. All departments must produce a regular index of all classified files. Even before the enactment of the transparency law, President Fox ordered a declassification of the files relating to human rights abuses.

Every government body is required to publish an extensive amount of information in electronic form, including structure, directories, aims and objectives, audits, subsidies and contracts. State agencies are also required to set up information committees to review classification and nondisclosure of information.

The National Commission on Access to Public Information provides oversight of the law. (3) It can carry out investigations, order government bodies to release information, and apply sanctions. Individuals and agencies can appeal decisions to federal courts. It has set up an electronic system for requests on the Internet (SISI) for the Executive agencies. (4)

The Parliament is considering a Data Protection Act that would allow individuals to access and correct records held by public and private organizations. (5)

The following states and districts have adopted FOI laws: Aguascalientes, Coahulla, Colima, Durango, Federal District (Mexico City), Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Sinaloa. Efforts are pending in another ten jurisdictions. (6)

Notes

1. http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/9/default.htm

2. Federal Transparency and Access to Public Government Information Law. http://www.freedominfo.org/reports/mexico1/laweng.pdf. For an extensive review, see Kate Doyle, In Mexico, a New Law Guarantees the Right to Know. http://www.freedominfo.org/reports/mexico1.htm

3. Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Pública. http://www.ifai.org.mx/

4. http://www.informacionpublica.gob.mx/

5. See http://www.senado.gob.mx/gaceta/107/107m.html

6. See Limac Asociación Civil Libertad de Información-México, http://www.limac.org.mx/