Goodbye to INAI, hello to opacity

Claudia Sheinbaum  has published a decree that dissolves the  National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI). Marking a significant setback in the fight for transparency in Mexico

The disintegration process of the INAI will begin immediately, affecting its employees, who will face relocation or unemployment. Additionally, the public will find access to crucial information complicated

Centralization of Power

Under the new scheme, responsibility for information is transferred to the Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat. This decision not only eliminates a crucial independent entity but also fragments the process of accessing information into 18 different entities.

This change promises to complicate and possibly obstruct citizens' ability to obtain data about the public administration.

Imminent Dismantling

The disintegration process of the INAI will begin immediately, affecting its employees, who will face relocation or unemployment, and the public, who will find access to crucial information complicated.

State congresses will be pressured to reform their legislation quickly to adapt to this new framework.

A Future without Checks and Balances

The greatest danger of this restructuring is the elimination of the INAI as a check on executive power.

The presidential power to reserve information under the pretext of "national interest" could block the path to transparency and open the door to corruption and abuse of power.

Consequences for Democracy

The autonomy of the INAI was essential to keep the government in check and allow citizens to have an active role in overseeing their leaders.

Without this independence, transparency becomes a manipulable tool at the service of power, representing a direct risk to the democratic health of Mexico.

A Controversial Closure

Although Sheinbaum's administration may argue that this is a necessary reform, for many Mexicans it represents a closing of doors to clarity and accountability.

The possibility of free access to information is essential for a free and just society, and this decree seems to undermine that basic principle.

With the disappearance of the INAI, an essential pillar in Mexico's democratic structure is lost.

This decree not only changes the rules of the game but introduces an era of uncertainty where access to information is no longer a guaranteed right, but a privilege granted at the discretion of power.