Mexico: Priority is to Strengthen and Deepen the Relationship
The Federal Access to Information and Data Protection Institute (IFAI) is one of the world’s formative and most respected 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... (RTI) establishments and it was instrumental in developing and shaping the OGP. ’Back in 2010, one of our Commissioners was invited by the White House to share her expertise,’ says Gabriela Segovia of IFAI. As an independent unit charged with monitoring the application of the Federal Access to Information Law (FOIA) and appeals lodged in respect of it, IFAI has been well placed to take forward the OGP, both within Mexico and internationally.
Following consultative talks with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other units of federal government and with CSOs in August 2011, a draft Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... was discussed and proposed. ‘IFAI invited a number of CSOs to provide inputs and possible commitments that were relevant and feasible or government to execute within a one-year time frame,’ explains Alejandro Gonzalez of GESOC. The ‘coalition’ of the remaining eight specialist organisations compiled over 100 commitments taken from agendas they were already working on – in the areas of 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, accountability and RTI – and suggested these to the federal government. Mexico’s National Action Plan was presented together with the Action Plans of the other seven founding member countries in September 2011.
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‘After the launch in New York, we discovered that most of our inputs had not been incorporated in the Action Plan, and we didn’t consider the document to be authentic,’ says Alejandro. The CSOs were critical and considered the Action Plan to be too general, too broad and not very strategic. Furthermore, the document hardly reflected any CS proposals or perspectives. ‘We were constrained by time and also lacked the experience and methodology needed to develop the Plan,’ Gabriela recalls. Thereafter a process of intense discussion started between the Coalition, IFAI and the Ministry of Public Administration – in the shape of the OGP Tripartite Technical Secretariat (TTS) – to develop the ‘Reinforced or Extended Action Plan’. The TTS was set up to act as a permanent and institutionalised decision-making, monitoring and compliance body for the OGP.
Consultations
Since its inception, IFAI has acted as an intermediary and facilitator between government and civil society. The consultation process for the Extended Plan commenced in December 2011 and was limited to the eight CSOs; all are based in Mexico City but work extensively in different states of the country. These organisations are recognised, experienced and independent. They bring analytical and critical skills to the table. ‘We represent ourselves but we have been working as a consolidated community of practice for the past eight to ten years,’ explains Alejandro.
From the start, the TTS has had ongoing discussions about broadening the representation to other levels of government and to include other CSOs. The decision not to go ‘fully public’ with the consultations was motivated by two important constraints: the timing and the time frame. With little time to prepare the document and with the Action Plan spanning only 12 months, the TTS focused on ensuring that the commitments and actions were realistic, measureable and achievable. ‘To ensure our efforts are well coordinated, we have appointed someone from the organisation to be the formal civil society representative on the TTS,’ explains Alejandro. This position is for a fixed term and will work on a rotational basis. A part-time assistant is also being appointed to support the coordinator, a post that will be financed in equal parts by the eight CSOs. In addition, each CSO has appointed a staff member in order to define and lead the consultation process for the new Action Plan, which is likely to have eight thematic areas or clusters.
In late 2012, Mexico held national electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... More and the country now has a new government. ‘With a new federal administration in place, we are focusing our time and energyEnsuring universal access to sustainable, dependable, and affordable energy is critical to every aspect of prosperity. Increasing public oversight and transparency in the energy sector can help to ens... More on developing a relationship with them in order to continue our work on the OGP and to integrate the new Action Plan, says Gabriela. ’ The TTS also recognises the importance of preserving what has been developed: strengthening and deepening the relationship and improving the quality of the commitments. The contact with President Enrique Pena Nieto’s team to date has been positive and the TTS has shared the results and lessons learned from implementing the first Action Plan. The results of the joint government/civil society evaluation revealed that only two commitments had not been fulfilled (21 were completely fulfilled and 15 were partially fulfilled). ‘The overall quality was below par. For the second Action Plan, we want to have fewer commitments but those that are more strategic and have strong capacity to transform public management,’ says Alejandro.
A stakeholder analysis is currently being undertaken, identifying key players in each cluster. In June/July 2013, discussions will commence with NGOs, academia, the media,‘ the private sector and government agencies to develop specific result- oriented commitments that have the capacity to transform peoples’ lives. ‘The round table discussions will be highly participatory, involving public officials and the results will be published online,’ says Alejandro. A website (http://www.aga. org.mx) was created at the outset and it has been actively utilised for hosting and sharing information. To date, the media has not been fully aware of the OGP and it has not been possible to generate media excitement about the initiative. OGP is often misunderstood; it is seen as a new thing that is complex and primarily about information technology. Plans are underway to engage the media in a more formal and structured dialogue in order to address these misconceptions and to bring about more substantive involvement. Private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More engagement has also been minimal but is important for the future. Increasing the transparency of procurement procedures is vital to addressing corruptive practices. According to Gabriela ‘there are a number of CSOs that work with the private sector on enhancing transparency, and it is important that we create space for them on the OGP platform.’
Key lessons
The Mexican experience has been enriching and many important lessons have emerged.
Firstly, in order to have significant involvement in the OGP action- planning process, CSOs that are willing to engage must have enough resources (time, financial, personnel and knowledge) to sustain their participation.
Secondly, it has been useful for CSOs to be part of various networks (national and international) in order to boost the whole process and to bring pressure to bear where necessary.
Thirdly, the TTS has proved to be an effective mechanism for steering and monitoring the OGP process in Mexico.
Fourthly, raising the awareness of the OGP within government agencies and within civil society must be an ongoing process.
Lastly, the TTS has provided a valuable space in which the relationship between all three actors has been equal and horizontal, and managed according to a consensus model. ‘OGP has been about participation. Although it was difficult to define a methodology, we have learned a lot from trying things out and making the necessary mistakes. In fact we have learned more from these than from our successes,’ concludes Gabriela.
Mexico by Open Government Partnership