ProAcceso

The organization is pushing for laws that ensure the right to access information on public health issues, the salaries of public officials, use of public resources, and other information that can be used for the public good. The Venezuelan federal government is not interested in passing such a law, so the organization is focused on municipal and state governments, where the goal is more attainable.

Public institutions in Venezuela tend to be very weak -- with little understanding of the power of public citizens. Too much public information is currently classified as secret, tightly controlled by the state, or massively complicated to obtain. This situation creates corruption and further secrecy. ProAcceso aims to open government in Venezuela by pushing for greater access to information. This is nearly impossible on the federal level, so the organization has been pushing for more local laws that will eventually filter up to the national level. So far, six municipalities and three states have approved such a law with the help of the organization.

Mercedes de Freitas is the CEO and Founder of the Transparency International chapter in Venezuela, where she was dedicated to fighting corruption in the country and pushing for greater information transparency. There, she realized that a more broad coalition of people was needed to fight for information transparency, including public health advocates, journalists, educators, and human rights advocates. In response, she helped create this organization as a coalition.

No. The organization is pushing the government to create laws that protect the information.

Democracy in Venezuela is not strong. Too much information is private and secret. Many in the government see civil institutions as the enemies of the state. Human rights organizations have been attacked. It’s not a government that encourages civic participation or public accountability.

The organization provides technical support to regional governments interested in pushing for transparency and the right to access public information. They hold training workshops for local governments and organizations. Those governments are pushed to pass transparency and right-to-information laws and ordinances. They also create coalitions between organizations and governments centered on transparency. They also test the transparency systems set up by governments by sending out requests for information and checking for information quality and timeliness. They then present that information to governments and organizations to show how they are complying with their promises.

Six municipalities have already passed laws, and they’re continuing to test those laws and make sure the governments fulfill their promises. In Varuta, the mayor presented a training plan that promotes transparency. The organization is now training and graduating 20 trainers who will support the mayor and train the mayor’s staff on the freedom of information. The trainers will also set up community workshops to help citizens access information for the public good.

It’s an issue that cuts across most everything that she works on.

Three people are employed full time by Transparency International working on the issue.

The most time consuming task is dealing with the issue of polarization in the country. Government officials tend to view civil organizations as the enemy, and it’s very difficult to make them see otherwise. It’s necessary, yet time consuming, to incorporate Chavistas or Bolivarianos into the issue of transparency.

The best way of identifying and engaging new constituents is by appealing to their immediate needs. If you’re talking to a mother with a child in school, for example, you need to attack the issue of educational transparency and information about schools, teachers, and public health. You need to help people see what kinds of information they need to access and why they need it.

The organization is constantly reaching out to new municipalities and local governments to expand the outreach of the coalition and to replicate the program in different parts of the country.

Transparency International and any Venezuelan governments willingly take part. The organization does not take money from the United States government, for fear of the response by the Venezuelan government.

Yes.

Yes, a lot.

Yes. In many municipalities throughout the country.

That kind of money would provide for a greater integration of information dissemination and documentation on the web. The organization currently creates training guides for citizens throughout the country. More money would provide for a more integrated system of training guides on the web accessible to all people. It could also provide a system for documentation of some of the most dramatic cases where people have been denied access to information. If the cases were more publicized, more people would know about the issue of transparency and more people would demand freedom-of-information laws.

One hundred thousand dollars would extend the coalition to many more municipalities throughout the country. They would be able to set up transparency systems in more rural areas. It would also allow for more integration between the different municipalities and organizations throughout the country, using the web and other platforms of discussion. They would develop a software that creates daily accountability and budget updates, and roll those out in ways that all citizens can understand and use. The idea is to not only update the technology, but also the human rights situation in Venezuela.

The first goal is to reach many more municipalities throughout the country. Specifically, they’re going to present on best practices in 100 municipalities and eight governorates. They will also move forward creating more ProAcceso chapters in different regions, making sure this is a country-wide effort, not simply in Caracas. They will also continue documenting individual cases and court cases where people denied the right access public information. They will also continue reaching out to more diverse groups of people, including doctors, lawyers, and educators, creating a movement of people who push for greater transparency in Venezuela.