In answering the questions asked by the members of the Chamber of Deputies, Guillermo Francos He referred to decree 780/2024 published last Monday which, arguing “the violation of the principle of good faith”, modified the Law on Access to Public Information to avoid requests that are linked to “data of a private nature”. The PROwho promoted the legislation in the Macri Government, rejected the decree.
“There is no intention to limit access to public information”said the Chief of Staff in his defense of his administration in the lower house and stated that “it did not seem to us that there was a violation of this constitutional right in all this”: “The intention was to try to organize the issue of access to information due to the amount of administrative work it requires.”he added and confirmed that “there is no intention to hide public information.”
In this context, he referred to the argument of good faith: “The Government understood that some mechanisms were not used in good faith, but on the contrary.” “Good faith is for everyone, including individuals,” he said.
Finally, the official promised to “collect the concerns that you have raised here and I will transmit them to the President of the Republic and We will see if we need to modify the decree”“We have no qualms about providing all the answers if necessary,” he concluded.
Reform of requests for Access to Public Information
The government of Javier Milei moved forward on Monday in modifying the regulations of the Law on Access to Public Informationthrough the redefinition of terminology and limiting access to private information.
To implement the changes, the Libertarian administration also modified the concept and scope of what is known as “public information,” stating: “Information containing private data generated, obtained, transformed, controlled or held by private individuals or legal entities or due to the absence of a public interest shall not be considered public information.”
Finally, they specified that “the Agency for Access to Public Information For the purposes of preparing statistics, it will take into consideration those repetitive requests that generate an unnecessary expenditure of administrative activity by the obliged subjects, or that constitute a “abuse in the exercise of the right of access to public information by the applicants”.
The PRO rejected the modifications to the Law on Access to Public Information
The block of the PRO in the Chamber of Deputies joined in the rejection of the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) published in the Official Gazette which aims to limit access to public information: “It guarantees an essential right in any democracy.”
“The national deputies of the PRO bloc We categorically reject regulatory decree 780/2024 that modifies Law No. 27,275 on Access to Public Information sanctioned during the presidency of Mauricio Macri,” the statement reads in its first paragraph.
PRO legislators pointed out that “this law is fundamental for citizens, since guarantees an essential right in any democracy: free and unrestricted access to public information. This right not only promotes transparency and accountability, but also gives citizens greater control and oversight over the actions of the State.”
They added: “Changing this rule through regulations without the necessary consensus represents a step backwards in terms of transparency and public control, which are essential elements for the proper functioning of our democracy.”
Source: Ambito
