Federico Reyes Heroles
The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) of the United States dates back to 1967.
With a long diplomatic career, collaborator of Olof Palme, a progressive and very enlightened man, and author of many books on Central America and Afghanistan, Mexico was on his radar. I phoned the Foreign Ministry. The front pages of the newspapers were dominated by discussions on visas, migrants, and other topics in his area. I thought he would cancel. We wanted to exchange information. He received me punctually, we chatted for half an hour. The phone rang, but I don’t remember any interruptions. When I left, I asked him: how could you not have to attend to the matter? He answered me astonished: that is for the Central Statistical Bureau (SCB) to answer. I have no reason to argue with a journalist about figures; there are official data. His name is Pierre Schori.
As I walked along, I was struck by the comparison: what a lot of time Mexican public servants waste trying to prove their truths! Sweden is a country with a fantastic tradition in terms of access to information. When Transparencia Mexicana was born, I compared access to information laws worldwide. The picture was very simple, and most of them appeared in the second half of the 20th century. The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) in the United States dates back to 1967. Sweden jumped out at me. I thought it was a typo, but it was not: 1776. In Mexico, the principle was enshrined in Article 6 of the Constitution in 1977. It was in October 2002, and thanks to Fox’s disposition, that we saw the birth of the Institute for Public Access to Information (IFAI), then INAI, and the ones in the states. Citizens’ rights were expanded, and accredited truths served everyone, whether rulers, journalists, scholars, or investors. Mexico has advanced a lot. The current administration dedicated itself to bombarding the very foundation of a government’s legitimacy: verifiable truths.
According to SPIN, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has launched more than 103 thousand lies, accumulating 80 per day. Result: Mexicans already disbelieve everything. In social skepticism, governing is very difficult. A few days ago, AMLO painted “Pemexlandia”. Unbelievable! Sheinbaum has a huge challenge: to reestablish credible referents and end the unhealthy practice of being judge and party. She does not have many options. First, the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI) should be strengthened in terms of independence and budget and the defining character of its investigations. Second, civil society organizations (CSOs) are persecuted today, but with solid information, they can help maintain good governance. For example, Inegi recently published a report on prison systems (state and federal). Almost 40% of the people deprived of their liberty do not have a sentence. We need more judges. Of these, 44.3% were sentenced to pre-trial detention, i.e., without an investigation. We need more investigators and fewer prisoners without investigation or sentence (PPO). Resources to the centers decreased by 8.1%; nevertheless, the number of people released increased by 16%. A waste? A real justice achievement would be to reduce the time spent in prison. What do the Justices of the Supreme Court have to do with this? Very little.
José Ramón Cossío’s article on the electoral numbers of the proposed judicial reform provides some eye-opening figures. Taking the nominal list of Mexico City (CDMX) -which is not strictly the First Circuit- more than one billion ballots would need to be printed, plus another 312 million. In the CDMX, with 447 judges and magistrates, more than 3 billion ballots would have to be printed. The situation is so absurd it’s almost comical. Imagine the voting lists and the wait! Morena’s technique has been to stigmatize an issue and launch proposals without analysis. Not being a majority and stumbling, the opposition was responsible. But now…
Dos Bocas and the Mayan Train are underwater because people believed their dangerous lies. Sheinbaum will have to rescue realities in order to govern. How many vaccinations are we missing? How much are Pemex and CFE’s losses? Educational levels, health, evaluations, and numbers.
Deception is immoral. Self-deception is foolish and… very costly.
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