Grass-Roots #Ley3de3 Anticorruption Drive Puts Heat on Mexican Lawmakers Kirk Semple - The New York Times
go to original May 30, 2016

Iniciativa ciudadana Ley 3de3 (Ley 3de3)

Corruption is so woven into daily life in Mexico that it has been enshrined in a common saying: “El que no transa, no avanza” — he who doesn’t cheat doesn’t get ahead.

Payoffs and bribes are the price of doing business, an invisible line in the budget that usually goes unchecked.

But a package of anticorruption measures being weighed by the national legislature could become a turning point in the country’s relationship with corruption.

At the center is an ambitious initiative to impose public disclosure rules for all public servants, at all levels of government. Called “3 de 3” — or “3 out of 3” — the initiative would require government officials to reveal their assets and potential conflicts of interest, as well as prove that they are paying taxes.

If passed, the initiative, which would also compel close relatives of public officials to reveal their assets, would be among the farthest-reaching public disclosure measures in the world, its authors say.

“Mexico has to aim for the best,” said Eduardo Bohórquez, one of the principal authors and the executive director of Transparencia Mexicana, a watchdog group.

That package, however, hangs in the balance.

The legislature ended its regular session at the end of April without taking up the measures for a vote. Lawmakers, with June 5 governor elections in mind, declined to call a special session to debate the matter before a legislated deadline of May 28. Instead, they put off the session until mid-June.

But a public outcry in recent days compelled legislators to reschedule the debate for Monday.

Read the rest at The New York Times

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