Debate on a Freedom of Speech Bill moves forward in the National Assembly
Ecuador Impact | Positive Probability | Medium Civicus Rating | Obstructed On August 24, the International Relations Committee of the National Assembly approved the unification of the Free Expression and Communication Bill presented by President Guillermo Lasso, and of an initiative to guarantee freedom of the press presented by the Andean Foundation for Media Observation […]
The Senate reactivated its study of a bill to update the Law on Access to Public Information
Chile Impact | Positive Probability | Medium Civicus Rating | Obstructed On August 30, the Senate Government Committee put on the agenda for the first time the bill presented by the Executive Branch that updates and expands the scope of the 2008 Access to Public Information Law. The initiative, which entered the Congress 10 years […]
Executive Branch and Assembly move forward with measures to strengthen transparency and access to public information
Costa Rica Impact | Positive Civicus Rating | Limited On August 6, President Carlos Alvarado officially presented the National Integrity and Corruption Prevention Strategy 2021-2030 (ENIPC in Spanish), which sets a 9-year plan to unify the institutional response to corruption and establish priority areas. One of the main axes of the project is the promotion […]
Amid growing restrictions to access to public information, the ruling party now proposes granting the Institute constitutional status
El Salvador Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Obstructed During the first days of August, the draft of the constitutional reform bill promoted by the ruling party was made public, which seeks to grant constitutional status to the Institute of Access to Public Information and to the Government Ethics Tribunal. The proposal also contemplates the […]
Executive resolution restricts access to information on the President’s activities
Panama Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Limited On August 20, the Ministry of the Presidency published a resolution declaring as restricted access information the minutes, notes, files and other records of the discussions or activities of the President and Vice President of the Republic and the Cabinet Council. The documents related to the execution […]
The National Assembly rescinds the legal status of 15 CSOs, with 49 such organizations now barred from operating
Nicaragua Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Repressed On August 16 the Ministry of the Interior cancelled the legal status of 6 international civil society organizations (CSOs). Exactly ten days later the National Assembly controlled by the ruling party approved with 70 votes the cancellation of the legal status of another 15 national CSOs. The […]
Bolsonaro partially vetoed a law seeking to modify ‘crimes against the rule of law’
Brazil Impact | Negative Probability | High Civicus Rating | Obstructed On September 2, President Jair Bolsonaro partially vetoed a law that repeals the National Security Law of the military dictatorship and typifies in the Penal Code crimes against the democratic rule of law, including crimes against citizenship and freedom of assembly. The bill had […]
The government advanced in a new regulation of the internal organization of civil associations
Honduras Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Repressed On August 15, the Honduran Ministry of Governance, Justice and Decentralization released an agreement that establishes a series of provisions that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must incorporate in their statutes. Among them is a registry book of their members with data such as their fingerprints. The objective of […]
Government promotes a new donations regime to support civil society
Chile Impact | Positive Probability | Medium Civicus Rating | Obstructed On July 26, the Ministry of Finance presented a bill that aims to create a new regime of donations with tax benefits in order to facilitate the financing of civil society organizations (CSOs). The new regime includes objectives already recognized in existing special laws […]
Opposition Senator proposes CSOs help decide how to use confiscated assets
Paraguay Impact | Positive Probability | Low Civicus Rating | Obstructed In early July, opposition senator Abel Gonzalez introduced a bill to authorize non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to make provisional use of seized assets under the administration of the National Secretariat for the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Assets (SENABICO in Spanish). The allocation and supervision […]