Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Civil society organizations and opposition leaders have condemned the decree of Argentine President Javier Milei, which limits access to public information established in 2016 by a State transparency law, and demanded that he repeal the measure.
In a public letter released on Tuesday night, some 70 civil associations repudiated the decree, which redefines the scope of the law and establishes that the private lives of rulers are outside any request for information.
“A decree cannot limit access to public information,” claimed dozens of organizations, including the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA), the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) and the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ). The president promulgated last Friday the law approved in 2016 by Congress and introduced by decree some specifications, such as determining what type of information can be requested, leaving out of reach, among other things, “the work papers” of officials and “their deliberations.”
It also introduces the requirement of the “principle of good faith” for all requests for public information and authorizes the imposition of compensation to those who violate it or make abusive use of the right.
The decree also deemed it “necessary to adopt measures to prevent the disclosure of any information that, due to its specificity, could be used to identify a person’s routines, movements and locations, as well as information related to ongoing complaints or investigations.” For the civil associations, the presidential measure “implies a serious regression in the interpretation of the right of access to information in light of international standards on human rights and the fight against corruption.” They also considered that its application “generates a discretionary regulatory framework.” At the end of July, a court ruling had already advanced in limiting access to public information on President Milei’s “private life,” including any data regarding his dogs, a sensitive point for the president. This was ruled by the National Treasury Attorney’s Office when rejecting a request for public information regarding the maintenance costs of the president’s four dogs and the cost of building kennels in the presidential residence.
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