Focus AreasThe transition to democracy in many countries of Latin America represented a transition from military dictatorships and authoritarian regimes to elected governments dominated by strong, elected Presidents. It was not, at least initially, a transition to more open government. While new constitutions spell out the powers of an independent parliament and judiciary, in practice it has been difficult to create effective checks and balances on executive power.
A key problem in “leveling the playing field” between the executive branch and other branches of government, and in ensuring that all of them are more accountable to citizens, is a lack of access to basic information about what government is doing and a lack of expertise about what to do with information when it is available.
The Latin America Program carries out a range of activities and grant-making aimed at strengthening transparency on the part of government and strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations to hold governments accountable for their actions.
In this line of work, the Latin America Program gives priority to four main areas:
- Freedom of Information: Promoting the rights of citizens to have effective access to government information.
- Budget Monitoring: Improving civil society capacity to monitor government revenues and expenditures.
- Anti-corruption: Strengthening and expanding civil society efforts to combat and control government corruption.
- Open and Independent Media: Strengthening the capacity of journalists and the media to foster transparency and combat corruption
Non-governmental organizations working on these four issues tend to be part of quite distinct networks in Latin America, so another key priority for the Latin America Program is to encourage greater collaboration and coordination among groups working to promote transparency and accountability.
As an example, the Latin America Program supports the following organizations that work in these areas:
Libertad de Información – Mexico A.C. (LIMAC): OSI supported LIMAC’s work on freedom of information in Mexico which included the production of public education materials on how to understand new access to information laws, providing technical support to government agencies on the implementation of the laws and working to consolidate civil society’s presence on this issue.
FUNDAR, Centro de Analisis e Investigacion, A.C.: OSI provided support to FUNDAR to monitor four Mexican congressional committees and share this information with a network of NGOs in order to increase civil society’s influence in the legislative process.
Grupo Propuesta Ciudadana: OSI provided support for a project to train civil society to analyze, monitor and participate in Peru ’s decentralization process in eight regions of the country, especially focusing on monitoring the legislative process and analyzing government budgets.
Centro de Estudios y Accion Social Panameño (CEASPA): OSI supported CEASPA’s project to develop and negotiate a joint civil society-government anticorruption agenda in Panama.
Fundacion Prensa y Democracia Mexico, A.C. (PRENDE): OSI helped establish a non-profit organization in Mexico which offers fellowships to mid-career Mexican journalists in order to increase professional standards and help transform journalism into a tool for transparency accountability in Mexico.
