The Access Initiative

Mexico

1.75

Environmental Democracy Index Score

Mexico had a very good score for the Transparency pillar, a good score for the Justice pillar, and received a fair score for the Participation pillar. For the Transparency pillar, the public is granted a right to access environmental information on request, and the laws mandate the collection of a wide range of environmental information and the proactive disclosure of information to the public. Regarding the Participation pillar, the public is only granted a limited opportunity to participate in decisions relating to the environment, and most laws do not require government agencies to incorporate public comments in environmental decision making. As for the Justice pillar, the law provides a procedure by which the public can challenge government decisions to deny information requests. It also provides broad standing for members of the public to challenge a wide range of decisions that harm the environment or violate their environmental rights. However, the law does not provide assistance mechanisms to reduce societal and financial barriers to justice. Addressing these issues would ensure that public comments are incorporated in environmental decision making and marginalized groups are able to access review procedures and obtain redress.Visit the Environmental Democracy Index to explore the EDI score.

The mission of the TAI Mexico Coalition is to contribute to the strengthening of a culture of access to information, participation, and justice in environmental matters, which will serve as the foundation for a governance system that encourages a healthy environment and an improved quality of life.

The TAI Mexico coalition is led by the Iniciativa de Acceso Mexico, which is made up of three NGOs: the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental, A.C. (CEMDA), Comunicación y Educación Ambiental, S.C. and Cultura Ecológica, A.C. Their mission is to contribute to the development and establishment of a methodological process and framework to evaluate access to information, public participation and access to justice for environmental matters in an integrated, systematic and permanent way. They seek to encourage the constant improvement of access rights in Mexico and around the world. The TAI Mexico coalition has successfully carried out a wide range of activities, including the coordination and development of workshops for civil society and governments on access the information and the production of a television series titled “Principio 10: Interconexion Ambiental. The Mexico coalition has also been very active in the Principle 10 process for Latin America and the Caribbean.