http://dablog.ulcc.ac.uk/2008/06/25/mexican-archives/
As you know I spent a few days in Mexico in March working on an ICA committee. I thought I would write up some of my notes on he mexican archival system. It is quite complicated but very interesting.
As I am sure you are aware Mexico consists of a federation of states, with a total of 32 states. The Federal District of Mexico is young having been established in 1997, prior to that it had direct national rule. Within each federation there is local and municipal government and each of these levels have corresponding archives. Records are created at a Federal, Local and Municipal level. Overseeing all of these archives is the Archivo General de la Nacion (AGN) which holds 20 kilometres of records and is part of the Ministry of the interior and the Instituto Federal de la Nacion (IFAI). These two institutions rule on legal issues relating to archives but there is a conflict of interest between the 2 organisations. Each state at a local and regional level has an IFAI.
Mexico’s freedom of information law (Ley Federal de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública Gubernamental- LFTAIPG) was signed by President Vicente Fox on June 10, 2002, and took effect one year later, guaranteeing the public’s right to request and receive information from the government. It represents one of the most important human rights achievements accomplished during the Fox administration, and was due in large part to the civil society actors who conceived the law and convinced Mexico’s political leaders that it was necessary. It was a major step forward in the country’s transition to democracy, and continues to play a vital role in fighting corruption and forcing increased government openness and accountability.
When the transparency law went into effect, the government’s first objective was to ensure that every federal agency (dependencia pública)adopted the measures required to be able to respond to citizens’ requests for public information. Agencies created new “liaison offices,” or Unidades de Enlace, to serve requesters. Today, almost five years later, liaison offices are well established, operating with their own staffs under internal regulations that have formalized their procedures.
There are 4 legally constituted professional associations in Mexico: SEDCA, whose members must have another profession besides archivist in order to join and consist mainly of lawyers who are also archivists. It counts 1,200 members; ANAI which consist mostly of information managers and some archivists; INDA which consists of archival educators and ASF (Archiveros sin Fronteras), Mexican chapter whose members are individual archivists and institutions. In total there are 10,000 archivists in Mexico!
While I was there I visited many projects in the evenings after our meetings. These were on the whole rescue projects which Mexican archivists had been involved in many government departments and records centres. One of the most vivid memories I have was entering the civil registry of Mexico City and being told that I was the official translator of the director! Then walking around the huge storage area of the registry of a city of 20 million residents.
We also visited a records centre of the social housing department of the federal government on the outskirts of Mexico City and saw the dramatic rescue and conservation work which our colleagues had been involved in. One of their aims is to support the marginalised in society and supporting them through adequate documentation e.g. housing.
As you drive out of Mexico City, there are shacks clinging high to the mountainsides that surround the bowl-shaped Valley of Mexico. The vast sprawl of the capital is visible through brown-gray smog. Gleaming skyscrapers sprout along the highway running through the area.
The people who live in these ‘poblados’ or slums often have no papers and thus no rights. Many archivists in Mexico are also lawyers and are keenly aware of how archives support human rights and work hard trying to help the excluded from their society.
Not wanting to end on such a gloomy note, Mexico is a wonderful vibrant city with its ancient Aztec temples and modern skyscrapers and our hosts treated us fantastically ensuring that after a hard days work we had a good meal accompanied by some ‘mechiladas’!
¡Viva Mexico!
