World Access to Public Information Day
On the occasion of commemorating the World Access to Public Information Day, César Murúa, coordinator of the FUNDEPS Area of Democratic Governance and co-administrator of the Transparent Cordoba Program, has published an article along with Mariano Mosquera, with their reflections regarding this right and the institutional implications it entails.
In the article published today in the La Voz del Interior newspaper, some assessments stand out:
Despite the existence of norms, as apparent in the provincial as in the municipal order, the access to public information is not a practice propagated to citizens, nor have governmental bodies been capable of adapting their complex political and bureaucratic systems to principles of publicity and transparency of their actions. (…)
The issue of lack of access to public information in the power of the State is not only related to the normative flaws or to the lack of spreading this right, but also to the culture of secrecy. The reluctance of institutions and their political and administrative servants to deliver information can undermine even the most progressive norms and the most active citizens.
Although the policies to promote governmental transparency have begun to gain a place within political discourse, this unfortunately does not correspond to policies which are truly effective. The lack of launching institutions, specialized in coordinating the compliance of terms and the forms for providing public information, erodes any proclamation of transparency.
On behalf of FUNDEPS, we follow these reflections in the commemoration of this day, while we continue to work towards institutions, which are more open, transparent and which actively seek to provide information.
For more information:
Article, published in La Voz del Interior, “A Right, Which Must Be Respected”
Contact:
César Murúa
Translated by Alexandra Botti
