Project Description
SUMMARY – Throughout Latin America, civil society organisations (CSOs) are exacting accountability by undertaking independent assessments of the implementation and outcomes of public policies and programmes. To get the information needed for these assessments, CSOs have used the Right to Information guaranteed by Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs), Constitutions or Court decisions. By conducting these exercises, civil society has highlighted mismanagement and inefficiencies in public policies, and pushed for reform, especially to ensure that policies benefit socially excluded groups. Using case studies from Mexico, Ecuador and Costa Rica, this brief analyses how CSOs are successfully using the right to information as a tool to improve accountability and social justice in Latin America.
