Don’t let the title scare you. This 164-page PDF report is readable by non-lawyers and non-FOI experts.
This is the first serious report I have seen about the Right to Information — what we in the States call Freedom of Information — laws in Latin America.
The author points out that 20 years ago only one contry in Latin America — Colombia — had a Right to Information law. Now 11 countries have some version of the law.
No one is saying the laws in place are perfect just as no one says the U.S. FOI law is perfect. But they are important steps to opening the government process and making the governments accountable.
From personal experience in the Dominican Republic I know that — like the U.S. — the majority of filings under the law are not from journalists but from civic organizations.
The SPJ played a role in developing more support for the DR law.
Then SPJ president Dave Carlson was invited to the DR as part of the 1-year celebration of the right to information law. Carlson told journalists and civic leaders who complained about the weakenesses in the law that just having the law in the first place is an important first step. He pointed out growing pains in the U.S. and state freedom of information laws and how journalists and civic groups worked around the laws and then lobbied to improve the laws.
Too bad that since 2005, the SPJ has not been heard on the international scene on this very important issue.