Mexico votes to end watchdog agencies, critics question gov’t transparency

The Mexican Senate passed a proposal to get rid of several independent watchdog organizations. While supporters said it will help reduce corruption and waste, critics said the country’s president is trying to eliminate a checks and balances system.

Mexico’s transition to democracy in 2000 led to the adoption of seven watchdog agencies including the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data, known as the INAI. The agency protects personal data and ensures access to public information.

If the proposal becomes final, the federal government would take on these responsibilities and the duties of six other agencies.

“The disappearance of these autonomous bodies represents a democratic setback,” a spokesperson for the Mexican Association for the Right to Information said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the bill will help reduce financial waste with savings from the agencies expected to go towards a new government pension fund. It would also be used for educational programs and for higher soldier salaries.

The new legislation is part of a plan pushed by the former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and is now supported by Sheinbaum, who said the INAI going away does not mean transparency in government will disappear.

The plan also includes constitutional changes, like a measure that would dismantle Mexico’s judiciary and allow citizens to choose nearly all judges, even in the Mexican Supreme Court. 

This raises concerns that Morena, Mexico’s dominant party, will take over the courts. If the watchdog agency bill is approved by a majority of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures, most of which are controlled by Morena, then it will become law.