Tag Archive for: Democracy

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Without proper authority in the AAIP, the right of access to public information is in danger

Organizations from all over the country requested an urgent meeting with the Chief of Cabinet of the Nation, Santiago Cafiero, to discuss the selection process of the highest authority of the AAIP – the control body of the Executive Power in matters of access to public information – given that the proposed candidate does not meet the suitability requirements for the position, as a result of the lack of relevant antecedents that demonstrate their knowledge and commitment to this human right.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

On February 17, the Chief of Staff of the Nation proposed as Director of the Agency for Access to Public Information (AAIP) of the Executive Branch the lawyer Gustavo Juan Fuertes, who does not have a track record related to transparency issues, access to public information or protection of personal data –see published CV-.

The Access to Information Agency has a task that is irreplaceable in the protection of this human right, which is in turn essential for a quality democracy in which citizens can know and actively participate in public affairs.

Their roles include not only that of resolving the claims of the petitioners and monitoring the proactive publication of information, but also of ensuring that the best standards are applied in the matter and that a citizen and state practice is stimulated that allows counting with an Open State based on the pillars of transparency, citizen participation and accountability. To this is added that it is the body in charge of protecting personal data and ensuring that the right to privacy is respected in our country.

The proper functioning of the AAIP requires officials with a high commitment in the subject and proven suitability in the matter. Otherwise, there is a risk that lower levels of transparency and openness of information will be tolerated in the hands of all the institutions under the orbit of the Executive Power (centralized, decentralized public administration bodies, State companies, concession companies public services, universities, political parties).

For this reason, and within the framework of the selection process open to citizens, it is important that the authorities are receptive to this type of objection from civil society and provide answers regarding the concerns raised. The Executive Power’s commitment to the right of access to public information must be reflected in the type of profile proposed to occupy this position, otherwise the right to know is at stake.

The organizations signing the petition are: Collective Action – Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ) – Concepción Data – Network Democracy – Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN) – Open Knowledge Foundation – Legislative Directory Foundation – Guest Foundation – Women in Equality Foundation – Nuestra Mendoza Foundation – Foundation for the Study and Research of Women (FEIM) – Fundamentals for Education (FundaEdu) – Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (Fundeps) – Institute for Comparative Studies in Criminal and Social Sciences ( Inecip) – Public Policy Laboratory – PARES – Citizen Power – Our Córdoba Citizen Network – Transparent Salta.

The reception of observations on the proposed candidacy is open until March 15, as well as the registration period for the virtual public hearing -which will be held on March 23 at 9 a.m.- for the appointment of the authority of the AAIP of the Executive power. It is important that citizens participate in these processes, which help to strengthen democracy. Enrollment link

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Fundeps was elected to be part of the National Open Government Roundtable

Last November 2020, from the collective of civil society organizations for the Open State in Argentina, we held the elections to renew the representations of civil society within the National Open Government Roundtable.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

What is the National Open Government Roundtable?

The National Open Government Roundtable was created in 2018 as a space for coordination between the national government and civil society in the promotion of open government public policies, as well as in the actions to be implemented by Argentina in its participation in the Alliance for the Open Government. It is made up of four government representations and four civil society representations.

Government participations are decided from the ownership of the area that has specific powers on open government, which is currently the Undersecretariat of Open Government and Digital Country. From the government they take their place within the National Open Government Table: the Undersecretariat of Open Government and Digital Country, the Secretariat for Political Affairs, the Anti-Corruption Office and the Agency for Access to Public Information.

On the part of civil society, its representatives are elected by vote of the civil society collective that currently make up the Network of Civil Society Organizations for an Open State in Argentina. In the last elections, Fundeps was elected together with the organizations Democracia en Red, Acción Colectiva, and Fundación Hupedes.

At Fundeps we feel great satisfaction to be able to participate in this space, at the same time that we assume this challenge with great responsibility. We hope to contribute, together with the excellent organizations that accompany us, in the development and implementation of more and better open government policies, strengthening the quality of Democrats at the national and sub-national levels, in tune with regional processes and with a human rights perspective.

More information:

Contact: 

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org

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Argentina presented its 4th National Open Government Action Plan to the Alliance for Open Government

Following the option given by the Open Government Alliance (OGP) to postpone the execution of the current Open Government National Action Plan (PANGA) (2019 – 2022) for one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic – Resolution of Coronavirus OGP – and the possibility of reviewing the Plan in the first year of implementation after the political transition, the government of Argentina sent in December 2020 its Fourth National Open Government Action Plan, adapted.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

Argentina joined the Open Government Alliance in 2012. Being part of this global Alliance implies committing to open government policies co-created with civil society, which are materialized through national action plans, to be executed in two years. Since its incorporation to date, Argentina has presented four Open Government National Action Plans.

In September 2019, Argentina presented the 4th National Open Government Action Plan (2019 – 2021) as stipulated by the deadlines given by OGP. OGP provisions allow, in any case, to make amendments to the Plan in the first year of implementation of the Plan (2020, for Argentina), especially in the event that political transitions operate in the environment, as was the case in our country. With the irruption of the pandemic due to Covid-19 that changed all the priorities of the public agenda in 2020, the Criteria and Standards Subcommittee issued the OGP Coronavirus Resolution in March 2020 through which it gave the possibility to the Alliance countries to postpone the presentation or implementation of their Plans for one year, depending on when each country is. Argentina, as it had already presented its Plan, could make use of this option, postponing its execution for one year, that is, it ends in August 2022 instead of August 2021.

After reaching a consensus on this decision in the National Open Government Roundtable, and through this with the group that makes up the Network of Civil Society Organizations for an Open State in Argentina, it was decided to take this option, setting in turn which one would be the methodology for making changes within the Plan. In this sense, the possibility of making two types of changes was envisaged: specific modifications related to deadlines, parts of milestones of the commitments or deliverables or more substantial modifications that would change the scope of the commitment. In all cases, the option to make changes to the Plan was in the hands of the Agency responsible for its compliance, and instances of validation or co-construction of the commitment were established – depending on the case – with the Civil Society Organizations that were part of the commitment. initial.}

From all this process it resulted that Argentina sends in December 2020 its National Open Government Action Plan (2019 – 2022).

How far is the current Plan from the one presented in 2019?

The 4th Action Plan presented in December 2020 consists of 18 commitments, that is, to the initial 15, three were added:

  • One related to Comprehensive Sexual Education (ESI), by virtue of which it is arranged to create a Federal Observatory for the Implementation of the ESI, which will meet bimonthly with civil society and government actors, as well as the publication of open data on the implementation of the ESI. The body responsible for compliance being the Undersecretariat of Social Education and Culture of the Ministry of Education of the Nation. And two on the Open Congress Action Plan.
  • In other words, the annex to the 2019 Plan on the Open Congress Action Plan was divided into two commitments, one for each Chamber of the National Congress. In this case, each House of Congress made its own adjustment of terms and must present its own Open Congress Action Plan.

In relation to the initial commitments, only one – on Access to Justice – changed its content, passing the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation to commit to create Provincial Observatories of Access to Justice, as well as local territorial operations in in rural areas, indigenous peoples, popular neighborhoods and underserved areas, among other milestones (see previous version page 83 – current version of the commitment). In that case, other civil society organizations such as XUMEK, CELS, INECIP and ANDHES also joined. The other commitments only had simple adjustments, fundamentally regarding compliance deadlines, given the one-year extension of total compliance with the Plan.

In some commitments, other NGOs were added that were not initially planned, as was the case of the commitment on Access to Justice, ESI where Amnesty International and Fundeps joined, in the commitment of Women in the World of Work the Ministry of Women joined , Gender and Diversity as another actor of collaboration and monitoring of the same, and in Sexuality and Rights the organization FUSA joined.

Finally, an annex document prepared by the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity called Incorporation of the Gender and Diversity Perspective was added to the 4th National Open Government Action Plan, which constitutes a contribution from this Ministry to promote the mainstreaming of the perspective gender and diversity in the field of open government policies generated in the 4th Action Plan.

From Fundeps, we are part of the National Open Government Roundtable (2020-2022) and of the collective that makes up the Network of Civil Society Organizations for an Open State in Argentina.

Once the instances of co-creation (2019) and revision (2020) of the Plan have been completed, it is time to collaborate from citizens and civil society in monitoring the commitments made in the Plan, in order to contribute to its effective compliance the objective of continuing to consolidate open government policies throughout the country, both at the national and federal levels, and in all the areas in which open government policies were making their way.

Contact

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org 

More information

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What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals?

We present a document analyzing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015 by the UN Member States, with the purpose of ending poverty, protecting the planet and guaranteeing peace and prosperity for all people by the year 2030. The SDGs There are 17 integrated objectives in which the actions or impacts on one will affect another / s.

The situation generated by the pandemic is not at all encouraging, since pre-existing unfavorable issues such as increasing poverty and hunger, increasing inequalities, rising unemployment, the health and sanitation crisis, the economic recession, restricted access to education, the setback regarding gender equality, among other aspects.

Thus, the document “Impact of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals“, prepared in a collaborative way, analyzes and reflects on the impact of COVID-19 on the SDGs, the positive and negative consequences of the global pandemic on each of the 17 objectives.

The current context has posed challenges for States and international organizations in decision-making, and in the establishment of truly effective actions to prevent this type of situation from recurring. In this way, the current context made us have to rethink whether the current system is effective or whether we should build another model for the future, one that is more equitable, inclusive, fair and sustainable. Therefore, the situation that the world is going through may mean an opportunity to rethink what future we want to build from now on.

More information

Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org

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Impact of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals

(ONLY SPANISH) The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented global impact in the modern era. Many countries are in a health, economic and social emergency due to the negative consequences of the fight against the new coronavirus.

Undoubtedly, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established for the United Nations 2030 Agenda will be affected. In this paper we analyze some of the positive and negative impacts on the SDGs, although we anticipate that in general the outlook is negative, especially if we focus on the effects it will have on community health and the increase in inequalities due to the economic slowdown. world.

Descargar Documento / Download File
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Protection for delay in access to environmental information

On December 1, we filed an amparo action for delay of the Secretary of Environment of the Province of Córdoba in providing environmental public information. Through this action we ask the courts to require the Province to fulfill its duty to provide the requested information.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

During the months of October and November, we asked the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change of the Province for public information related to the policies and actions implemented by the Provincial State regarding prevention, mitigation and adaptation measures to the phenomenon. In the absence of a response within the term provided by current provincial regulations, we again request the prompt dispatch of the administration.

In the absence of a specific response, and when the deadlines have expired, we filed an action for protection for default. This consists in informing the Provincial Courts of the delay in complying with the deadlines ordered by law to answer the request, so that later the judicial body requires the authority in question to fulfill its duty.

It should be remembered that the right of access to information is guaranteed in the Argentine regulatory system and is recognized in Principle 10 of the Declaration of Rio de Janeiro of 1994, the Escazú Agreement ratified by National Law No. 27,566, in art . 41 of the National Constitution, as well as Laws 25,831 on Access to Public Environmental Information and 25,675 General on the Environment. This right is a fundamental presupposition proper to democratic coexistence and is necessary for proper environmental management.

In fulfilling their obligations, the authorities must provide such information, without it being necessary to prove interest or any reason, free of charge and within the prescribed deadlines. In the event of non-compliance, the action for protection by default is outlined as the way to guarantee the enjoyment of such a fundamental right.

Contact

Juan Bautista Lopez, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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We are trained in “budget analysis and advocacy strategies for transparency”

Within the framework of a project that seeks to strengthen accountability at the federal level, together with the NGOs Nuestra Mendoza, Andhes and Salta Transparente, we are trained in “Budget Analysis and Advocacy Strategies for Transparency” in order to generate common tools and align our work on this matter.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

The public budget is the main economic policy mechanism that defines how and how much public resources will be collected and invested in a whole year. Through this, the government defines its priorities in attention to public policies and therefore in the guarantee of rights.

The objective of the training was to generate tools and align our work on public budget matters, in order to carry out a joint strategy on the subject. Although, in general terms, all public budgets follow a similar scheme both at the national and sub-national levels, both the nation and each province have their own specificities. In this sense, guidelines were established for the analysis of each provincial budget process, identifying its key actors, times of the process and the existence or not of a mechanism for transparency and citizen participation.

In a particularly complex year, where the emergency was declared and large funds were allocated to care for the pandemic – a situation that is expected to continue at least for a while longer – we consider it key to delve into this issue. In this sense, we will advocate for greater visibility of the public budget, while making it more transparent, participatory and guarantor of human rights.

Contact

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org.

 

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Right to Access to Information Day

Every September 28 we celebrate the International Day of Access to Public Information in order to promote government transparency and raise awareness among citizens in the exercise of this human right. This day has been held since 2002, following a conference held in Bulgaria, organized by defenders of freedom of information from 15 countries. Years later, in 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed the celebration of this date in order to consolidate public awareness about the importance of access to information.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Right of Access to Public Information (DAIP) is a fundamental right that every person has to request and receive information that is in the possession of the State. In return, it is an inescapable duty of the public powers to implement and ensure compliance with the objective of making public management transparent. In its collective dimension, the DAIP acquires relevance for the strengthening of democracy since it functions as a mechanism to guarantee accountability and citizen control. In turn, it is a key right that enables and enhances the enjoyment of other human rights, such as health, a healthy environment, education, among others.

Access to information held by public entities can be guaranteed in two ways. Through active transparency, that is, when the State proactively publishes information or through a request for public information before a specific body, which is known as passive transparency.

Access to information in the province of Córdoba

In November 2019, and with the support of 14 organizations throughout the country, we launched the report “Córdoba: a proposal to update the law on access to public information” where, at the same time, highlighting the main international standards on the matter , we make specific recommendations so that Córdoba updates its law No. 8803 on Access to Knowledge of State Acts dating from 1999. From that moment to date, nothing has changed, so the update claim is still in force, let’s see what they are the main shortcomings of the law:

  • It is a law of 10 articles that, for the most part, is limited to establishing the procedure to access public information and fails to regulate the right of access to information in a comprehensive manner, so as to ensure its effective compliance.
  • It does not enunciate, beyond the principle of “publicity of government acts”, other key principles in order to guarantee the right of access to public information to any person.
  • It defines “public information” in a very limited way as “any type of documentation that serves as the basis for an administrative act or the minutes of official meetings.” In general, “document” refers to a written medium. That is why this definition is extremely restrictive and defines, ultimately, what citizens will or will not have access to. It is advisable that a broader definition of public information be followed as the national law does.
  • It contains a limited number of subjects obliged to provide information: it does not contain entities that receive public funds (such as political parties or unions) or are contractors of the State to provide a public service; and as for the Judicial Power, it restricts it to its administrative activity.
  • It does not provide for active transparency, so the type of information that it publishes is at the discretion of the provincial government without being subject to any type of control or minimum floor of information to be published.
  • It does not foresee measures for the promotion, implementation and assurance of the right, as is the case of the existence of an Access to Public Information Agency.

Access to public information is essential for the exercise of its function and the achievement of its objectives, since it constitutes a first element of analysis to be able to monitor public policies and collaborate accordingly.

In 2019, of more than 100 AIP requests made between the municipality and the province of Córdoba, only 10 were answered. There is also a practice that violates the principle of publicity and the strengthening of the institutions of democracy; This is to respond to requests for information, once they are prosecuted.

As an example we can cite the case “Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies c / Secretariat of Financial Administration of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of the Province of Cba. – Amparo Por Mora (Law 8,803) – Appeal for Cassation ”, in which, after 10 years we obtained in 2019 a favorable ruling from the Superior Court of Justice of Córdoba on budgetary information required in 2010 from the provincial and municipal governments regarding to the registry of suppliers and to the funds of direct execution in the hands of Ministers. Likewise, and without yet having a final judgment, in August 2019 we filed an amparo action against the provincial Ministry of Health for not responding to a request for information on health services in the area of ​​sexual and reproductive health in the province of Cordoba.

What happened this pandemic year?

The outbreak of the pandemic highlighted and exacerbated the difficulties that already existed and hindered the full exercise of the right of access to public information.

As is known, at the beginning of the pandemic and together with the mandatory social isolation measures, the “suspension of administrative terms” was ordered at all levels of government, both national, provincial and municipal, which implied a “stop” in the normal functioning of the entire public administration. In this area, it is worth highlighting a good practice on the part of the National Agency for Access to Public Information, which on April 14 of this year ordered through resolution 70/2020 to exempt itself from the general suspension of administrative deadlines so that all the procedures derived from both the national law on access to public information and the law on the protection of personal data, will be active. One of the fundamentals he used was the following “in the face of an emergency situation and a health crisis resulting from the pandemic generated by COVID 19, accessing public information is essential to know the Administration’s performance and avoid arbitrariness in taking of public decisions ”. We highlight this decision, which enabled Fundeps to make a total of 24 requests for public information at the national level, having already obtained 17 responses, which allows us to continue monitoring some key public policies on human rights.

Although at the provincial and municipal level, and in part due to the lack of active and interactive AIP Agencies with society and / or publicity of information related to AIP requests since the beginning of the pandemic, it was not possible to establish exactly when is that the AIP deadlines and mechanism were resumed.

At the municipal level, and given the new government management, the information request website has been updated, available here. For its part, the province forged by the emergency situation and social distancing that made it impossible to manage AIP requests in the only way that they were foreseen, that is to say in person, has settled a historical debt which has been the creation of a site of online inquiries to make requests for public information. Although we celebrate this progress, which is key in this period and which will facilitate the management of requests once it has ended, we consider that the requirement to have a Digital Citizen to be able to make a request for public information is excessive in terms of human rights. Although it may be desirable for the province for the entire population to manage its Digital Citizen, the right of access to public information cannot be subject to a formal and technological requirement such as this one. This is absolutely contrary to both the standards that guide this right and current legislation.

The Inter-American Model Law on Access to Public Information establishes that any person must access public information even anonymously, only having to provide a contact information in order to obtain the required information. Argentina, at the time of enacting Law 22,175 on access to public information in 2016, indicated that the requesting person must indicate their identity, the information requested and a contact information. Similarly, it is foreseen in Córdoba, in Article 6 of Law No. 8,803 where it is established that “the request for information must be made (…) with the identification of the applicant, without being subject to any other formality”. Therefore, the requirement of having a Digital Citizen is clearly an obstacle in the exercise of this human right.

In this context, some claims are still in force and are being deepened in order to effectively exercise the right of access to public information, such as the updating of Law No. 8,803 on “access to knowledge of the acts of the State” of Córdoba that dates from 1999, that special emphasis be placed on the obligation of active transparency by the States, having to publish complete and current information in open formats, as well as the creation of an Access to Public Information Agency at the provincial level that guarantees the full validity of this right.

Contact

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org

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Public procurement in Argentina during the state of emergency

From the Network of Organizations Against Corruption (ROCC) we published a document that compiles information on what public procurement is like at the national level, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza and Salta during the state of emergency. In addition, recommendations are proposed to increase transparency and accountability in processes.

Descargar Documento / Download File
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Public procurement in a state of emergency: how to guarantee transparency and prevent acts of corruption?

From the Network of Organizations Against Corruption (ROCC) we published a document that compiles information on what public procurement is like at the national level, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza and Salta during the state of emergency. In addition, recommendations are proposed to increase transparency and accountability in processes.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The declaration of the health emergency in relation to COVID-19 implies facing both economic and social consequences, which impact on the use of public resources that the State has in order to meet urgent needs. Therefore, it is necessary to place special emphasis on the public procurement system in a state of emergency to publicize the traceability of how goods and services are acquired.

The publication “Public Procurement in Argentina during the state of emergency” compiles the regulatory information and information on the availability of purchasing and contracting, at the national level and in some of the provinces, including Córdoba; It also proposes recommendations for efficient, transparent and corruption prevention recruitment processes.

In general, the purchasing and contracting systems have deficiencies even during periods outside an emergency context, so it is in this type of situation that the manipulation of information and the use of extraordinary budgets can be most discretionary. When these resources are not intended for their original purposes, but diverted or misused, the rights of citizens are violated.

The Network of Organizations Against Corruption, based on the survey carried out, draws up a series of recommendations (available here) for public procurement for all levels of government carried out in the context of an emergency.

During the context of an emergency, an adequate exercise of public spending becomes particularly relevant, since otherwise it hinders and prevents people’s access to the exercise of their essential rights. It is essential to guarantee the functioning of the institutions and control systems of the financial administrations to ensure the correct use of public funds. In this way, public procurement systems must tend to satisfy the greatest number of rights, be efficient in the expenditure made and transparent in all its stages.

What is the situation in Córdoba?

Córdoba declared on March 9 the state of alert, prevention and sanitary action in the detection of cases of dengue, coronavirus, measles and any other edition of disease with high sanitary and social impact that may cause outbreaks and epidemics that affect or may affect the province of Córdoba, and adhered on March 18 to the public emergency in health matters declared by the national state through decree No. 260/2020 for a period of one year from March 12, 2020.

For the purposes of crisis management, the government of the province of Córdoba created the “Fund for the attention of the state of alert, prevention and health action for epidemic diseases” and for the purposes of the operation of this Fund, Córdoba referred to the measures that in 2015 and 2016 were arranged to deal with the massive floods that occurred in various towns in the province, at which time a “Permanent Fund for Disasters” was created.

In terms of purchasing and contracting, Córdoba did not issue specific rules that regulate the procedures that are carried out during the emergency period. As far as law 10,155 is applied, which enables in its article 10 direct contracting in the event of “existence of manifest urgency and / or imperative need in the contracting of a good or service”, which is why most of the contracting carried out during this period they have been under this modality.

To access the specific recommendations of the province of Córdoba click here

Contact

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org

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Trunk Gas Pipelines and the difficulty of accessing public information in the province

On the occasion of the completion of the Trunk Pipeline Work in the province of Córdoba, last year we made 5 requests for information to provincial agencies. When we did not get any response, we presented a prompt dispatch to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The difficulties we have encountered in accessing information about this project have been constant since its inception.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Since 2014, we have made various requests for information on this emblematic project to both the Provincial Government and the National Government. On the occasion of the project’s completion, last year between August and October we made a series of requests for information to three departments of the Province of Córdoba directly or indirectly involved in the project, namely: the Córdoba Investment and Financing Agency -ACIF -, the current Ministry of Public Works, former Ministry of Public Works and Financing and the current Ministry of Environment, ex. Ministry of Water, Environment and Public Services.

At the end of 2019, as we had not received a response from any of the provincial agencies for the requests for information made and the response period had ended, we decided to make an early dispatch to the Ministry of the Environment.

It is important to clarify that once the provincial agencies receive a request for information they have 10 days to respond and it can only be extended for an additional 10 days as long as it is reported within the deadline. In the event of an incomplete response or lack of response, as was the case here, a prompt dispatch may be submitted. This resource is the same request for information, but it details the date and details of the request that had been made, together with a warning to initiate legal actions, that is, an injunction for default. Any provincial agency has a term of 10 to respond to the prompt dispatch, with the possibility of extending it for another 10 days, as well as with requests for information. In our case, the prompt dispatch was carried out in mid-December 2019, however the Ministry of the Environment responded to us only in February 2020, that is, the deadline was more than expired.

Thanks to the prompt dispatch made, we received the response to the request for information made in August 2019. The request requested information on the final layout of the project, location and number of inhabitants, businesses and industries benefited by the works and the state of situation. of the project. According to the information provided, all the Regional Systems are completed with provisional and / or definitive reception of the work.

In addition, we inquired about the companies and / or Transitory Business Units (UTEs) that participated in the project as well as what were the details and characteristics of the plan for connecting the home units to the Trunk Systems Regarding this last query, the provincial agency He replied that by means of a protocolized Agreement No. 024/2017 signed by the province of Córdoba, the Banco de Córdoba and the Distribuidora de Gas del Centro SA The “Fund for the Financing of Natural Gas Home Networks” was approved. It established the guidelines and requirements that the adhering municipalities must meet to allow the neighbors the possibility of obtaining financing to face the costs of connecting to natural gas in the home networks. In line with the above, the origin of the financing of the Provincial Plan Connect Gas Industry that enables the connection to the natural gas service to Shops, SMEs, Industries, Industrial Parks, among others, was consulted. This Program has a Banco de Córdoba financing line of $ 200,000,000, an amount that is loanable up to 100% of the value of the work according to the client’s classification. Also, the Program has financing of $ 100,000,000 from the Federal Investment Council.

Most of the information requested had previously been requested in requests for information that we made in previous years but in which we did not receive any response. Information that would have been optimal to have long before.

The lack of response to requests for information, such as non-compliance with the deadlines stipulated by Provincial Law 8803 on Access to Public Information (called the Law on Access to Knowledge of State Acts), hints, again, not only the great difficulty currently existing to access public information in the hands of the government of the Province, but also how outdated this law is, which dates back to 1999. Consequently, last year together with social organizations we requested through a document the update of this Provincial Law in accordance with the guidelines of the Inter-American Model Law and the National Law of Access to Public Information.

Access to public information is a human right that strengthens citizen participation, transparency in public administration, and democratic governance. For this reason, it is necessary to update the provincial Law in this matter in order to solve the shortcomings it possesses, incorporating the highest standards and guaranteeing control mechanisms that supervise its compliance.

More information

Author

  • Gonzalo Roza
  • Sofia Brocanelli

Contact

Towards a digital democracy

Last Wednesday, the two Houses of the National Congress held their sessions remotely for the first time in history. In halls full of screens, with representatives present on the premises – taking the prudent distance – and also in the distance, the Argentine Legislative Branch resumed its activity after a month and a half of having decreed social, preventive and compulsory isolation.

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Constitutional law in the new virtual context

Without a doubt, the crisis caused by the coronavirus required that public institutions reformulate themselves, not only to face the pandemic, but also to continue guaranteeing the rights of citizens. During the month of April, the President of the Senate presented a declaratory action of certainty before the Supreme Court of Justice, raising the need to meet, especially for those issues that cannot be resolved by decrees of necessity and urgency, such as matters of matter. tax and criminal. The specific question was whether it was constitutionally possible for the Senate to meet through digital means because it was facing a situation of institutional gravity generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is foreseen as an exception to the face-to-face sessions in article 30 of the regulations of the High camera. Although the Court rejected the action because it considered that it was “inadmissible” to rule on the matter, this did not prevent it from making some additional considerations in this regard.

In this sense, in the majority vote (Ricardo Lorenzetti, Juan Carlos Maqueda and Elena Highton de Nolasco and Horacio Rosatti voted in the same direction and Carlos Rosenkrantz rejected in limine) it was that the court stated that:

“To carry out the sessions of the Senate under a remote modality instead of the traditional face-to-face orbit within the proper attributions of the Legislative Power referring to the instrumentation of the conditions to create the law […] the possibility that the Senate may meet remotely it does not interfere with the way in which the Constitution imposes on that Chamber to exercise its powers ”(Cons. N ° 16).

In other words, the Constitution does not indicate anything about “the physical or remote modality of its sessions”.

Later, the sentence adds that “… the continuity of the task of legislating the National Congress is absolutely essential for the normal development of the constitutional life of Argentina”, corresponding to the Senate “to arbitrate the necessary mechanisms to facilitate the realization of their highest reason for being, which is the representation of the people of the Nation in the deliberation of their affairs ”(Cons. Nº 17). Finally, the Court resolves that “the Senate of the Nation has all the constitutional powers to interpret its own regulations regarding the virtual or remote way of sitting, without resorting to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation; therefore, the initiated action is rejected”.

Will it be enough to close the way to future issues of unconstitutionality on the way of meeting? What will happen in the event of conflicting bills that require extensive debate?

The first sessions

The Wednesday session had as a first step to vote the protocol that establishes the new modality, with a validity of 60 days, extendable if social, preventive and compulsory isolation is extended. Then, the validity of twenty Decrees of Necessity and Urgency signed by the President of the Nation was voted to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The debate lasted for five and a half hours (it is recommended that virtual sessions do not last more than 6 hours, to avoid technical problems), with presentations of more than 20 speakers and without major inconveniences, except for two brief technical interruptions.

A few hours later it was the turn of the Chamber of Deputies, which met with 193 representatives remotely and 47 on the premises. First, the protocol establishing the virtual session mechanism was approved with a special majority while social and compulsory isolation lasts. Then, a bill exempting from Income Tax payment was approved unanimously for public and private health professionals, personnel of the armed forces, the security forces, migratory activity, customs activity and firefighters, among other essential activities. Finally, also unanimously, a Protection Program for health personnel in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic was approved.

However, after the premiere of the telematic system in both houses of Congress, doubts arose as to whether this virtual modality would be viable to discuss controversial and more complex bills of consensus. In this sense, representatives of the opposition expressed that in the first session only a tenth of the legislators were allowed to make speeches, with the rest remaining silent. Some fear has also been expressed that the remote modality may curtail some political rights of male and female legislators, and they insist on finding a way to resume the face-to-face dynamics. However, on the part of the ruling party, they point out that there is no doubt that technology should begin to form part of the daily life of Congress.

What is digital democracy?

It is understood that digital democracy or e-democracy is putting the Internet and technology at the service of citizens, so that they contribute to the consolidation of the democratic system. The technological revolution has been present for several years on issues that concern public management and citizenship, and has resulted in great benefits for citizen practices such as participation, freedom of expression, access to public information, transparency and surrender of counts. It is necessary to understand that the Internet plays a fundamental role in all these processes, since it allows citizen empowerment and breaks down barriers that traditional systems present, which generates impressive possibilities and without historical precedent.

In this sense, there is no doubt that the virtual sessions of the Legislative Powers are an expression of these unimaginable possibilities that technology gives us. In many cases, at both the national and provincial levels, legislatures have already been holding workshops, committee meetings, and training through this medium. In addition, there are several provinces whose Legislatures have been meeting in this way (for example, Mendoza, La Rioja and Córdoba). At the regional level, the first countries to meet virtually were Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

However, these mechanisms present a series of difficulties that do not occur in person, for example, when it comes to guaranteeing the stability of communication channels (and that there are no disconnections or technical problems that could invalidate the debate and voting), to prove the identity of those who participate and to guarantee minimum conditions of computer security and protection of personal data and sensitive information. Without forgetting, in addition, that in many cases the use of these technologies required prior training and technological literacy.

Despite these challenges, we know that these processes are here to stay, and that they will continue to be implemented beyond the pandemic. Like teleworking, telemedicine and virtual education, the use of new technologies in the public administration is increasingly frequent, which requires an agile, modern, efficient and innovative State, which also does not lose sight of the protection of the human rights of citizens.

What happens to state activity beyond the legislative?

We understand that it is essential that the State promote the full functioning of all public institutions, and not only to attend to the specific solutions that this context demands. Suspending administrative activity for long periods can hinder access to basic rights, so it is key that the activity be resumed as soon as possible, and by digital means if necessary.

In the same sense, the Judiciary, although in many jurisdictions where there is greater flexibility in isolation measures, has already resumed work in person, in those with higher housing density it is still with suspended deadlines and carrying out a kind of extraordinary judicial fair. However, essential and emergency services are being guaranteed. Teleworking, receipt of electronic writings, incorporation of digital signature, hearings by videoconference and transmitted by social networks, receipt of complaints by instant messaging systems, authorization of permanent hotlines and online mediations are some of the initiatives implemented. There are even some courts that ordered to notify the claims by WhatsApp.

More technology, but for more rights

The virtual sessions of Congress during the next few days will surely be the stage for discussion of issues that have to do, precisely, with the use of technology. Either to regulate and limit its negative consequences, with the recognition of what is known as the “right to digital disconnection” in the face of increasingly expanded forms of teleworking, or to facilitate access to certain rights, such as case of digital medical prescriptions, whose project already has a favorable opinion from the Health and Social Action commissions of the Chamber of Deputies and will be discussed soon.

If technology is here to stay and its use in public institutions, especially Congress, is going to intensify, policies to reduce the digital divide must also be intensified. In this way, it will enable all citizens to enjoy its benefits, by being able to witness, for example, the legislative sessions. Technology should not become just another mechanism of social exclusion and privilege for some.

There is surely much to reflect on when thinking about the challenges in relation to citizenship and democracy in technological environments. With their enormous complexity, new technologies are always means at the service of the ends that each person and each society decides to pursue. For this reason, we believe that it is necessary to learn to use the digital world for the promotion of values ​​such as openness, tolerance, democracy, debate and human rights.

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