Mexico City, December 4th 2024.
On November 28, 2024, the Mexican Senate approved the “Organic Simplification” bill which provides the dissolution of seven autonomous constitutional entities, including the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information, and Personal Data Protection (known by its Spanish initials as “INAI”). The INAI’s duties include ensuring transparency in the actions carried out by public sector entities and safeguarding the human right to personal data protection, both in possession of obligated entities of the public sector and private individuals.
The bill was recently approved by 17 state congresses, thereby achieving a qualified majority. In this regard, Congress will count the votes, and the results will subsequently be published by the Executive in the Official Journal of the Federation.
The bill provides that the protection of the rights to access to information, personal data protection, and transparency policies will be transferred to the Ministry of Public Administration. At the state level, the protection of these rights will fall under the jurisdiction of oversight bodies and comptroller’s offices within each state institution. For personal data held by private entities, the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration (known by its Spanish initials as “LOAPF”) will define the responsible body for managing procedures related to the protection of rights, verifications, and the imposition of sanctions. The specific agency or Ministry tasked with safeguarding personal data held by private entities has yet to be determined.
Following the bill’s publication, Congress will have a 90-day period to amend the applicable laws, including the Federal Law on Personal Data Protection Held by Private Parties and its Regulations, as well as the LOAPF.
All actions taken by INAI prior to the enactment of the secondary legislation will remain fully legally effective. The dissolution of the autonomous entities will not occur until such secondary legislation comes into force.
The INAI has historically served as an independent body providing checks and balances, and guaranteeing to individuals transparency and protection of rights. This amendment to the Constitution reverts Mexico to a system resembling other past decades, such as the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, characterized by a single dominant political party and virtually no transparency. Now with the bill, the government will be asked directly to report on acts and expenses carried out by the government itself so that it is the government that displays its information and sanctions the government. In other words, the government will now be both, the overseer and the overseen.
Our firm’s Information Technology and Data Protection practice area remains available to assist with the challenges arising from these bills.
Sincerely,
Adolfo Athié Cervantes
Renata Denisse Buerón Valenzuela
Erika Itzel Rodríguez Kushelevich
Ivan García Argueta
