Rolando Herrera / Reform Agency
Friday, April 21, 2023 | 22:49
Mexico City.- In the current circumstances, in which the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI) cannot meet due to lack of quorum, it is essential to establish a dialogue with the Executive Branch, said Blanca Lilia Ibarra, president of the guarantor body.
When participating in the presentation of the Anti-Corruption Learning Platform, he said that democracy cannot function only with ideals, but that institutions are required to implement public policies.
“Maintaining a respectful, constructive dialogue with the Executive Branch is not only a necessity, it is a priority. We know that what Mexico aspires to is to have solid institutions that fight corruption, that attend to citizen needs and that allow those ideals to be achieved democratic,” he said.
Since last April 1, the INAI has not been able to meet because it is missing three members of the Plenary; last March, the Senate had appointed two new commissioners, however, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador objected to the appointments, so they could no longer fill the vacancies.
“INAI is currently in a very challenging stage, in which it cannot fully deploy its function of defending human rights due to the lack of three members of the Plenary, which prevents us from validly meeting,” he stated.
“This also prevents us from defending people against unfounded denial of access to information and improper processing of personal data. In this situation, we cannot resolve citizen complaints.”
The functions of the INAI, he reiterated, cannot be absorbed by a dependency, in this case the Secretariat of Public Function (SFP), which belongs to the Executive, because no power can audit itself.
“Furthermore, the INAI, as an autonomous body, has jurisdiction over the three powers and the other autonomous bodies and, furthermore, acts as a second instance with respect to the federative entities. No agency could have that jurisdiction without affecting the principle of division of powers and federalism,” he emphasized.
Ibarra expressed his concern about the initiative sent by the Executive to eliminate different entities of the Federal Public Administration, including the Executive Secretariat of the National Anti-Corruption System (SNA).
“I cannot help expressing my concern about the initiative to eliminate the Executive Secretariat of the SNA because it is the one who materializes the agreements of the National Anti-Corruption System by implementing public policies on corruption control, in addition to managing the National Digital Platform, among many other technical functions,” he said.
