Extinguishing the autonomy of the IFT and INAI is a step backwards and violates the right to information

This is an automated translation of the original release published in Spanish.

By Amedi

The Mexican Association for the Right to Information (Amedi) expresses its rejection of the proposal to extinguish autonomous constitutional bodies such as the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) and the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI). These bodies perform essential work in the protection of fundamental rights, sectoral regulation and act with a technical and specialized profile that is essential for the defense of the rights to information, communication and transparency.

The technical autonomy and political independence of these bodies is a fundamental principle for the democratic functioning of our society and an indispensable requirement to prevent public policies, regulations, resolutions and decisions in these sensitive areas from being subject to political interests.

Subordinating the functions of these bodies to the Federal Executive or related agencies increases the risk of politicization and threatens the impartiality of decisions that affect all citizens.

In the case of the IFT, the extinction of this body implies that its powers will be assumed by the Federal Executive through the agency in charge of telecommunications and broadcasting policies, even though it has proven to be a mechanism with little effectiveness over several six-year terms. This weakens the State's capacity to guarantee equitable and fair access to communication services and affects freedom of expression and the right to information by subjecting its regulation to interests other than those of the public interest.

The extinction of the IFT ignores the achievements obtained by this autonomous body after 11 years of existence, such as the elimination of the National Long Distance and National Roaming charges, as well as the transition to Digital Terrestrial Television, among the most relevant issues.

In this same period and with the IFT at the head of regulation of the sector, Mexico went from 9.6 million households with internet access in 2013 to 27.7 million households (71.7% of the total number of households), while the number of mobile broadband connections quadrupled, going from 27.4 million in 2013 to 126.1 million connections.

With the disappearance of the INAI, the protection of rights such as access to information, transparency and the protection of personal data will be fragmented between the Secretariat of Public Administration, the oversight body of the Judiciary and the comptroller's offices of both Chambers of the Congress of the Union.

Since rights will be subject to institutions with diverse interests, powers and structures, both political and judicial, the proposed fragmentation will affect the certainty, objectivity, clarity and equity in the application of this right, as well as reducing transparency and accountability.

Regarding the protection of personal data held by individuals, the ruling party proposes that the powers be transferred to the Federal Executive, in accordance with what is determined in the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration. This represents another setback, since the monitoring and protection of personal data requires a technical and impartial body, with the capacity to evaluate and respond neutrally to abuses or violations of privacy, not an agency of the Executive with the potential for control or intervention interests.

The disappearance of these autonomous bodies represents a democratic setback, affects the principle of progressiveness of fundamental rights, and weakens the mechanisms of control, transparency and protection of rights that have been built with great effort in our country.

Amedi calls on the Federal Executive, the Congress of the Union and all sectors of society to defend the existence and autonomy of these bodies, which are essential for a modern, robust and plural democracy in Mexico.