ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSPARENCY POLICIES IN FOUR CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

The article analyses the functioning of public information access systems in four Central American countries (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) based on the methodology used in the project Transparency Metric 2010, conducted by the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE). The specific objective is to identify common challenges, recurring issues and best practices in matter of access to governmental information in these four countries. The study shows that, although all four countries have made progress in consolidating a specialised Freedom of Information Legislation (FOI), significant challenges remain in institutionalising the operation of such system, as well as consolidating its ability to effectively make government information public, both proactively and in response to specific requests from citizens. The main challenge is to develop a public policy which allows structuring a coherent system for the access to information.