This is not your parents' Mexico. Dogs are fatter, cars are bigger and the typical Mexican knows a little more about the workings of her government.
This is nothing to scoff at. For most of the 20th century, Mexico was ruled by a single, secretive political party. Human rights abuses went undocumented, and journalism was practically a state-sponsored profession. Now, after a generation of electoral reform and economic liberalization, Mexicans have finally gotten a taste of sunshine courtesy of the landmark 2002 Federal Transparency and Access to Public Government Information Law. But just as the country starts to enjoy a culture of transparency, vested interests are looking to defang the right to know.
That would be a shame. Mexico has grown into the world's 12th-largest economy and is on the cusp of consolidating its democratic gains. Crowning the achievements are its recent strides toward openness and transparency. Citizens can use a sophisticated website to probe government files and ask pointed questions, such as how much politicians are paid. If an information request is denied, they may appeal to an administrative court within the Federal Institute for Access to Public Information -- the operationally independent executive body charged with administering the law.
The process has produced noteworthy successes. In one case, a Mexican think tank used hundreds of information requests to expose the misuse of 200 million pesos ($19 million) originally intended to fight HIV/AIDS. It turned out that the money was being distributed to hospitals that had budget crises, including some with virtually no experience treating HIV patients. Another investigation, conducted jointly by six non-governmental organizations, discovered that 30 million pesos ($3 million) of the same AIDS funding went to an anti-abortion group. A private audit of the files then found that about 90% of the $3 million was misspent on luxuries such as parties, Cartier pens and lingerie.
Evidence is mounting too that the law is taking hold. Requests to federal agencies have grown every year, and polls show that awareness of the new legal apparatus is spreading nationally. Just last year, Mexico's Congress passed an important constitutional amendment requiring the country's 31 states to follow in the federal government's footsteps by opening their records and disseminating some of the vast body of state-level government information.
