Faced with possible ineffectiveness in Inai, they see a “huge” lag in resolutions

Experts agreed that, in the event that the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (Inai) is left without the necessary quorum to meet, the responses to the review appeals filed by the interested persons would be postponed until that the Inai can have the assignments to have at least five commissioners.

Issa Luna Pla, coordinator of the Information Law area at the Institute of Legal Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, reported that, with the lack of a quorum in the Inai plenary session, in addition to a huge administrative delay, there would also be affected “the deadlines determined by law for the people who filed these information resources to have it.”

He mentioned that, for example, journalists would not be able to obtain information in the short term to be able to denounce cases of corruption, which, more than concealment of information, would translate into a delay of these, until there is no complete plenary session.

For her part, Jacqueline Peschard, former commissioner of the Federal Institute for Access to Information, explained that in the event that the INAI is inoperative to hold sessions, the obligated subjects “because they will be able to answer wrongly, give bad information, declare themselves incompetent or that they do not have the information, that is, what they usually do, but they will not have an organization capable of reviewing them and instruments that provide the information”.

For her part, Lourdes Morales, director of the Network for Accountability, announced that this situation has already happened to the Institute of Transparency, Access to Public Information, Protection of Personal Data and Accountability of Mexico City. and what happens in this case is that the resolutions lag behind; while we would have to wait to see what regulations are approved due to this state of emergency.

While, Ricardo Alvarado Andalón, investigator of Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, considered that, during the period that the plenary session is disabled, time will run for people to file review appeals, but there will be no response from the authorities. In addition, he considered that “running out of INAI plenary, what will happen is that we will not have this second opportunity to have better responses to our requests for transparency.”

Pressure for commissioners

On the other hand, the experts pointed out that the fact that the Federal Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information is reformed, instead of being a benefit that helps the plenary to operate, would mean an extra workload for the four commissioners who they would remain after the departure of Francisco Javier Acuña Llamas.

As there are fewer commissioners, we are putting more pressure on the remaining commissioners and their work teams to be able to process the review resources… Which are about 500 a week, more or less”, considered Alvarado Andalón.

And it is that, according to figures from the Inai Labor Report 2022, between October 2021 and September 2022, the institution received 3 million 385,748 requests for public information and correction of personal data, of which 1 million 29,715 were entered through the National Transparency Platform.

While, the number of means of challenge that were filed before the Institute of Transparency in terms of access to information were 20,197, 16.7% more, compared to the 17,298 that it received between October 2020 and September 2021.

Of these means of challenge received, the amount that the Inai resolved was 18,104. Of this amount, 16,894 were appeals for review, 1,151 for disagreement and 59 for appeal.

They are looking for commissioners to be appointed next week

The Political Coordination Board (JCP) of the Chamber of Senators agreed to finalize before the end of the current month, the approval of two of the three appointments of INAI commissioners pending to date.

In a private meeting, Ricardo Monreal Ávila, president of the highest government body of the Upper House and coordinator of the parliamentary group of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party, and his counterparts from the PAN, PRI, MC and PRD, Julen Rementería, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, Clemente Castañeda and Miguel Ángel Mancera, respectively, assumed the commitment to make an effort to find the necessary consensus that will allow the two commissioners of the autonomous entity who are pending appointment after the objection to be proposed to the plenary session by next week. presidential.

It should be remembered that the nomination process is currently underway in the Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Citizen Participation and Justice commissions, from among 52 candidates who will be proposed to the full chamber, for approval by two thirds of those present, to fill the vacancy, starting next April 1, of Commissioner Francisco Acuña.

The urgency lies in the fact that, if consensus is not reached in the Senate to approve the appointment of at least one of the three pending INAI commissioners, the institution whose plenary session is made up of seven commissioners could cease to function, in fact, due to because currently and since April of last year it has only worked with five commissioners, but as of next month it could settle for only four and that would prevent it from operating legally.

The members of the JCP are clear, informed the PRD senator Mancera, that “with the profiles that have already complied with the constitutional procedure, a consensus can be reached”, referring to the fact that the two people to propose will leave the list of the 46 finalist candidates.

politica@eleconomista.mx