Access to information, a human right blurred by the State acting on the patronage system and government officials treating public property as if it were their own
El acceso a la información, un derecho que se desdibuja ante un Estado clientelar y patrimonialista
| 2014 | |
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Authoritarian legacies secret access to information patronage and clientelism legados autoritarios secreto acceso a la información patrimonialismo y clientelismo |
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| Español | |
| Universidad Católica del Uruguay | |
| LIBERI | |
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https://revistas.ucu.edu.uy/index.php/revistadixit/article/view/399
https://hdl.handle.net/10895/3436 |
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| Acceso abierto |
| Sumario: | The article describes the challenges faced in the process of approval of the legislation for Access to Public Information, Decree 57-2008, in Guatemala, mainly due to the legacy of authoritative regimes —despite the fact that the country has formally transitioned to democracy. This legacy manifests itself not only in the government institutions but also in numerous amounts of common practices (such as clientelism and patronage) that have created the perfect environment for the State to function in a way that privileges and favors certain sectors or groups. The weight of this legacy and its expressions has not only impacted the design of a piece of legislation, but it has gone so far as to endanger it's implementation and institutionalization. This became evident through an exercise of request to public records that the digital newspaper "Plaza Publica" carried out. After four years since the approval of the legislation, the path to guarantee free access to public information and the promotion of actions that would prevent blatant secrecy and abstruseness, remains a long and rocky one. |
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