Action plan – Mexico State, Mexico, 2021 – 2022

At-a-Glance

Duration

Dec 2022

Date Submitted

15th February 2022

Foreword(s)

The State of Mexico has 125 municipalities composed of a wide variety of socio-economic regions, ranging from the metropolitan area to the marginalised and hard-to-reach regions of the south. In this broad geographical context, there are important challenges for the State, in order to eliminate barriers to access to justiceAccessible justice systems – both formal and informal – ensure that individuals and communities with legal needs know where to go for help, obtain the help they need, and move through a system tha... More, to the exercise of the right to informationThe legal right to request information from the government allows the public to follow government decision-making, participate in ensuring better decisions, and hold the government accountable. Techni..., to provide timely legal assistance, to facilitate access to procedures and services, as well as to provide legal certainty and security to the Mexican society, within the framework of a real management of governmental openness.

Thus, the State of Mexico as part of the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) co-created the First Open Government Local Action Plan for 2022-2023, with the purpose that, jointly, authorities and civil society organisations work proactively in the construction and execution of open government actions, mainly on issues of access to justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... and transparent government in favour of the citizens of the State of Mexico.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

This subsection details the Open Government Strategic Vision in your local area that should guide the commitments for the action plan period.

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

The State of Mexico has a pluricultural and pluri-ethnic composition based on its indigenous peoples and communities; they speak their own language, have occupied their territories continuously and permanently, and have built their specific cultures. It is their social, economic and cultural forms and institutions that identify them and distinguish them from the rest of the State’s population.

With a vision of modern government, work in the entity has been oriented and coordinated with action by the citizenry. State and society work together to strengthen public institutions in order to modernise access to justice and jointly create the necessary public policies to promote citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More, transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and accountability.

Currently, one of the mechanisms to enhance the transformation of public institutions is Open Government, which is a new form of governance that allows solving public problems based on an effective collaboration between authorities and citizens , which should be developed under the principles of transparency, accountability, citizen participation, accessibility and technological innovation.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

1. On 15 October 2019, the Local Technical Secretariat for Open Government of the State of Mexico (STL) was established, which has carried out permanent dialogue actions with the aim of integrating a Local Action Plan for the State of Mexico.
2. The members of the STL defined the Governance Mechanism in order to regulate the formation of the Local Technical Secretariat, decision-making methods, members and alternates. During its first ordinary session, the route to build the Local Open Government Action Plan for the State of Mexico’s exercise was approved – which contemplated 4 initial themes: (i) corruption; (ii) insecurity; (iii) mobility, and (iv) pollution and high impact on the environment – with the aim of generating a space for interaction and exchange of governmental experience, society, experts from academia for the generation of goals and general lines of action.
3. On 20 October 2020, the 56 local jurisdictions that joined OGP were formally announced, including the State of Mexico and the municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz, which were selected as a consortium from a group of 112 applications submitted jointly by governments and non-governmental stakeholders.

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

Based on a shared consensus among the working group, made up of a state executive branch agency and a municipal administrative unit, an autonomous body, academia and civil society, it was established that the thematic axes that would guide the start of the work would be access to justice for vulnerable groups and transparent government.

The challenges and areas for improvement to be addressed are: Citizen participation in decision-making, reducing legal marginalisation, digital governanceAs evolving technologies present new opportunities for governments and citizens to advance openness and accountability, OGP participating governments are working to create policies that deal with the ..., transparency and accountability.

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

The medium-term objectives are to strengthen open government practices in our government, as well as to promote citizen participation, transparency and accountability on the part of the authorities for the benefit of the people of the State of Mexico, through concrete actions that will be promoted by the Secretary of Justice and Human RightsAn essential part of open government includes protecting the sacred freedoms and rights of all citizens, including the most vulnerable groups, and holding those who violate human rights accountable. T... of the State of Mexico in conjunction with the Institute for Transparency, Access to Public Information and Protection of Personal Data of the State of Mexico and Municipalities and civil society organisations.

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

Through the systematic and comprehensive implementation of the co-created and proactive commitments, the strategic vision for safeguarding the right of access to justice, transparent government, strengthening democracy and accountability will be articulated and executed. In addition, with the implementation and prospective of co-creating actions, we will develop technological platforms that allow simple searches and provide useful databases to citizens, the provision of state procedures and services digitally, as well as the design of a policy of everyday justice.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

The thematic axes to be addressed within the Local Action Plan will enable the strategic objectives contained in the Development Plan for the State of Mexico to be covered, such as:

1. Strengthening access to everyday justice.
2. Creating alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and preventive justice.
3. Promoting proactive transparency, accountability and open government.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• Secretaría de Justicia y Derechos Humanos
• Instituto de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información Pública y Protección de Datos Personales del Estado de México
• Municipio de Tlalnepantla de Baz

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

Coordination and cooperation agreements.

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

• Online citizen consultation
• Virtual thematic round-tables
• Open dialogues

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

1. An online citizens’ consultation was launched virtually, and in order to integrate this space in remote communities and vulnerable and marginalised populations, resources and infrastructure of the Caravans for Everyday Justice were used so that the participation of people could be broadened in this way. The municipalities in which this dynamic was carried out were: Papalotla, Axapusco, Tepetlaoxtoc, Tlalmanalco, Temamatla, Tenango del Aire, Ayapango and Ozumba.

2. A call was published so that the citizens of the State of Mexico and civil society organisations could join to participate in four virtual thematic roundtables. This call was available from 1 to 15 October 2021.

Who participated in these spaces?

Government authorities, autonomous bodies, public officials, civil society organisations, citizens in general.

How many groups participated in these spaces?

10

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive...?

20

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

Through proactive communication with civil society organisations and inter-institutional participation between governmental authorities, a work programme will be drawn up in which concrete and time-bound actions will be determined in order to implement the cocreated commitments.

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

The participation of the Human Rights Commission of the State of Mexico, as well as civil society organisations from the State of Mexico, is foreseen in order to integrate the Independent Monitoring Body that will be in charge of measuring, evaluating, identifying areas of opportunity and issuing recommendations aimed at the fulfillment of the First Local Action Plan for Open Government in the State of Mexico.

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

TBD

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

• Thematic roundtables
• Virtual forums
• Plural dialogues
• Online consultations

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

Through regular meetings and progress reports.

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

A website has been set up to document the whole co-creation process, and the progress of the implemented commitments will be published on this website as well.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Borde Político
• México Evalúa
• Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Toluca
• Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil Mexiquense

Primer Plan de Accion Local de Gobierno Abierto EDOMEX
Website: ogplocaledomex.com.mx