Fundar: Centro de Análisis e Investigación

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Dear friends,

In September, Fundar participated in different collective efforts to launch a public agenda regarding transparency and accountability as indispensable conditions for citizen participation in the definition of public policies. This second issue of Fundar's Bulletin documents these efforts: the follow up on the reactions of several actors towards the publicity of the results of the research on donations from Pemex to Tabasco, the organization and invitation, along with The College of Mexico (El Colegio de Mexico), to the seminar “A balance of the non jurisdictional protection system of human rights in Mexico”; the participation of members of Fundar in the Forum for Women's Health in Mexico (summoned by the Commission of Gender Equity of the Chamber of Deputies); and in the Forum on constitutionalization of the right to information, carried out in Sonora by an alliance of civil organizations committed to transparency issues.

Identifying opportunities, but also the problems of the current Legislature to comply with its faculties of controlling the Executive Power, participating in the design of public policies and opening spaces for civil participation is part of our lines of research, specially of the Legislative Watch project. Furthermore, a central axis of Fundar's work is budget transparency, being alarming that the accomplished developments in past years in order to make budget information more accessible are being diluted. Hence, among last month's activities it is also important to highlight the presentation of the Diagnose on budget negotiation 2006-2007, held in Lamm House (Casa Lamm), that points out the centralizing and hierarchical feature of the last budget process, which (as everything seems to point out) is being repeated in the current budget negotiation process for 2008. As all of the above, other activities were carried out and which we wish to share with you. We hope that this number of Fundar's Bulletin turns into an informative space of reference, in which you may find valuable information on the efforts of civil society to promote democracy and human rights in Mexico. We invite you to read Fundar's Bulletin and we will be looking out for your comments and suggestions. Kristina Pirker, Sub-director.


IMPACTS OF FUNDAR´S RESEARCH OUTCOMES ON PEMEX´S GRANTS AND DONATIONS TO TABASCO In collaboration with the Ecological Association Santo Tomas, Fundar has been monitoring since 2006 the use and destination of resources originated by oil production and given to the state of Tabasco as donations.		FUNDAR WILL LAUNCH BUDGETARY TRANSPARENCY INDEX Next November 21, Fundar will launch Latin American Index of Budget Transparency with the support of Foundation.
CIVIL SOCIETY DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY ON THE ELECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL COMMISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIRMAN AND COUNSELERS Last October 1st, Fundar Centro de Análisis e Investigación along with INCIDE SOCIAL , Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Asociación para el Desarrollo Integral de las Personas Violadas, A.C. (ADIVAC).		FORUM OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION The “Third Forum of Civil Society Organizations engaged with society's appropriation of the Right to Information” will take place on November 8, 2007 at the Federal Institute of Access to Public Information.
CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF PUBLIC SAFETY INSTITUTIONS IS A PRIORITY As part of the grassroots work done in order to carry out the project of the Civilian Police Monitor at the mountain region in Guerrero.		SOCIAL SERVICE Is looking for students that would like to do their Social Service.
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND CONGRESS FOR BUDGETS WITH GENDER PERSPECTIVE Last October 9, 2007, the Inter-institutional Panel for Budgets with Gender Perspective was installed in the Chamber of Deputies.


FUNDAR STRENGTHENS INCOME ANALYSIS With generous support from the Hewlett Foundation, the Budget Area of Fundar, has fortified its capacities in the analysis. The important lines that Fundar strengthens are the analysis of tax incomes not originated from oil, and fiscal policy from the perspective of accountability and transparency that already exist or should exist, on tax and fiscal encouragement schemes and preferential treatment.		INTEGRAL REFORM ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fundar has participated in working groups regarding the proposal for a Constitutional Reform on Human Rights, along with other organizations, academicians and with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico.
DIAGNOSTIC OF THE BUDGET NEGOTIATION 2006 - 2007 On October 8th the Diagnose of Budget Negotiation 2006 - 2007 was presented in Lamm House (Casa Lamm). The document was written by the researchers David Davila Estefan and Lila Caballero Sosa, from the Legislative Watch project of Fundar, financed by the Open Society Institute.		THE NATIONAL COMMISSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS WAS ORDERED TO RENDER TRANSPARENT THE SESSIONS OF ITS CONSULTATIVE COUNCEL Last Friday, October 5th, Miguel Pulido, Fundar's transparency expert, was notified about the sentence of the 16th.
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS VIEW OF THE TAX REFORM The recent Treasury Reform was a challenge for civil society organizations (CSO). The reform proposal presented by the Executive Power included the creation of the Entrepreneurial Contribution at Unique Rate (ECUR), now the Entrepreneurial Tax at Unique Rate.		HUMAN RIGHTS IN MEXICO CITY The Coordinative Committee for the Evaluation of the Federal District 's Human Rights Programme is now producing the documents Process.
STATE REFORM IN OAXACA, ANOTHER FRONT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS After the first grave social conflict generated in Mexico this century, Oaxaca State is in need of institutional reform in order to redefine the relation between government and society.


CITIZEN EXERCISES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS In September the researchers of the Legislative Watch Project participated in different events to promote a democratic reform of the State. Fundar was present, along with academics and other civil organizations in different panels held within the Agreement among Congress and the UNHCHR (signed on December 12th, 2006) and in the meetings with the technical body of the Commissions of Human Rights in both chambers, to which the UNHCHR, academics and civil society organizations committed to human rights also attended.
THE GENDER AND EQUITY LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION AND THE COALITION FOR WOMEN´S RIGHTS HELD FORUM FOR WOMEN´S HEALTH IN MEXICO On September 19, the Forum for Women's Health in Mexico, was held in the Chamber of Deputies. The Forum was organized by deputies from the Commission of Gender and Equity and the Coalition for Women's Rights composed by different civil society organizations.


FUNDAR PARTICIPATES IN AN INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP AGAINST CORRUPTION Last September 17th and 18th, Fundar participated in a workshop organized by the Inter American Development Bank, to explore the potential of information access as a tool for fighting corruption. The workshop was an IDB initiative with the objective of creating an agenda in topics and alternatives in politics in order to make information access a useful and effective tool to improve accountability.		SOCIAL COHESION: EUROPEAN UNION (EU) AND LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC) FORUM The government of Chile, in collaboration with the European Commission, organized the first meeting of the Forum of Social Cohesion from September 23 rd to the 25 th in Santiago de Chile, as a preparatory meeting for the Summit of Heads of State and Government between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, which will be held in Lima in May, 2008.
PARTICIPATION IN HEALTH FORUMS Invited by the Ministry of Health, Fundar participated in the 5th National Forum and 2nd International Forum for Health Quality, held on September 20th and 2st of this month.		FUNDAR TRAINS From the 5th to the 13th of October the course “Incidence analysis in public budget” was held in Nicaragua , organized by the International Budget Project (IBP), Fundar, the Information and Health Assessment Services Centre (CISAS) and the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policies (IEEPP).
TRANSPARENCY PROMOTING SCHOOLS RECEIVE RECOGNITION Last august 31st, during the event where the ICAI handed over eight awards to educational institutions that include in their academic programmes the subject of transparency and access to information as part of the “Transparency Promoting Schools” programme.		CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS Individual and collective rights of the indigenous communities have followed a process of gradual acknowledgment.
TRANSPARENCY FORUM SONORA 2007: THE CHALLENGES OF CONSTITUTIONALIZATION The Collective for Transparency, Article XIX and Sonora Ciudadana summoned a forum to discuss about those reforms which could, and in other cases should, be made after the reform on article 6.
THIRD TRANSPARENCY WEEK IN PUEBLA The Commission of Public Info rmation Access of Puebla summoned the 3rd Week of Transparency, event which was held in Puebla.

Responsible: Kristina Pirker & Andrea de la Barrera –General coordination: Alicia Athié ––Logo design: Mono Comunicación, SA de CV –Web design: Diana Osornio–Audio production: Justine Dupuy –Contact andrea@fundar.org.mx Notes can be reproduced by quoting the source