Background on Claudia Sheinbaum and Her Government
Claudia Sheinbaum is the current Head of Government of Mexico City, serving as the equivalent of a mayor for the capital city. As part of her administration, she aims to streamline government processes through digitalization. However, the Confederation of Mexican Employers (Coparmex) has raised concerns about potential negative impacts on transparency and regulatory quality.
Coparmex’s Concerns Regarding Proposed Digitalization Law
Coparmex, a prominent business organization in Mexico, has expressed worry that the government’s proposed law to digitize and simplify up to 80% of administrative procedures across all levels of government might jeopardize years of progress in regulatory quality.
- Key Mechanisms at Risk: Coparmex is concerned about the elimination of tools such as the Regulatory Impact Analysis (AIR), Public Consultation, and the National Observatory of Regulatory Improvement. These mechanisms have been crucial in ensuring transparency and quality in regulations.
- Impact on Governance Standards: The loss of these tools could undermine the coordination between different government levels and lower governance standards.
- Loss of Impartial Evaluation: The disappearance of the National Observatory, for example, would mean losing an independent platform that evaluates the implementation of regulatory improvement policies by states and municipalities.
Coparmex’s Stance on Digitalization
According to Coparmex, digitalization should facilitate administrative procedures without replacing citizen collaboration or diminishing independent evaluation mechanisms.
- Facilitate, Don’t Replace: The business perspective is that digitalization should make processes easier while preserving citizen engagement and independent assessments.
- Strengthen Inclusion, Transparency, and Accountability: Digitalization should reinforce inclusivity, transparency, and accountability rather than weakening them.
The Role of the National Observatory of Regulatory Improvement
The National Observatory of Regulatory Improvement has played a vital role in highlighting gaps, sharing best practices, and promoting accountability. It has also served as a foundation for local public policy design.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is Coparmex’s main concern? Coparmex fears that the proposed law might undo years of progress in regulatory quality by eliminating crucial tools like AIR, Public Consultation, and the National Observatory of Regulatory Improvement.
- Why are these mechanisms important? These tools ensure transparency, quality in regulations, and coordination between different government levels. Their loss could negatively impact governance standards.
- What is Coparmex’s stance on digitalization? Coparmex supports digitalization to simplify administrative procedures but emphasizes the need to preserve citizen collaboration and independent evaluation mechanisms.
- What role does the National Observatory play? The National Observatory of Regulatory Improvement has been instrumental in identifying gaps, promoting best practices, fostering accountability, and supporting local public policy design.
