Asserting integrity in Mexico's civic sector
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Author | Sharon F. Lean,Evan Bitzarakis |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.2002 |
Received: 16 December 2021
-
Revised: 8 December 2022
-
Accepted: 12 December 2022
DOI: 10.1002/pad.2002
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Asserting integrity in Mexico's civic sector
Sharon F. Lean
|Evan Bitzarakis
Department of Political Science, Wayne State
University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Correspondence
Sharon F. Lean, Department of Political
Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI,
USA.
Email: sflean@wayne.edu
Abstract
In societies where civic space is closing, integrity in the civic sector is critical for its
sustainability. Where state regulatory frameworks are inadequate, or worse,
manipulative, self‐regulation can help defend the sector's integrity and strengthen
the ability of civic associations to serve the public and contribute to democracy. This
paper describes the strategic role in self‐regulation of a particular type of third
sector actor in Mexico, the coordinating body or civic network. A case study of the
Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI) and its Accreditation in Institutionali-
zation and Transparency project illustrates the contribution of NGO networks in
service to the sector, and their key role in diffusion of norms of transparency and
accountability within the civic sector and beyond.
KEYWORDS
CEMEFI, civil society, democracy, Mexico, NGO networks, self‐regulation
1
|
INTRODUCTION
Two decades after Mexico's transition to democracy, a notable
contraction of the space for civil society is underway. State actions to
reduce the public sphere and diminish the reputation of civil society
organizations are affecting service providers, charitable organiza-
tions and advocacy groups (Layton, 2020; USAID, 2020). In 2019,
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ended a role for civic as-
sociations in administering $15.7 billion in federal funding for social
programs, saying those funds would now be administered directly by
government entities (López Ponce, 2019). The Mexican government
also imposed a new regulation taxing CSO's earned revenue in excess
of 10% of total organizational income (Council on Founda-
tions, 2019). In 2020, authorities stepped‐up seemingly political au-
dits of reputable charitable organizations (Layton, 2020). And the
president, Andres Manuel López Obrador, has regularly and publicly
raised questions about the legitimacy of CSOs. In a high‐profile case
in 2020, President López Obrador ordered the investigation of nine
civic associations—including several of the most prominent
environmental NGOs in Mexico—accusing them of misuse of foreign
funding and of acting on behalf of foreign interests rather than in the
interest of the Mexican people (Stevenson, 2020). The NGOs in
question had challenged the construction of the “Tren Maya”—one of
the president's signature infrastructure projects. These governmental
actions pose a serious challenge to the civil sector and erode public
trust in civil society organizations by placing their integrity in
question.
A serious challenge for civic organizations in contexts of demo-
cratic backsliding is how to assert their integrity to both the people
they serve and to donors.
1
Literature on comparative politics of de-
mocracy and autocracy (Brysk, 2000) and from the field of public
administration (Díaz Aldret et al., 2020) agrees on the importance of
openness and transparency to the legitimacy of the third sector.
While a growing body of work studies integrity in the public sector
(Andersson & Ekelund, 2021; Dobel, 1990; Rose & Heywood, 2013;
Schillemans et al., 2013), the literature on civic sector integrity is less
well developed.
2
The present paper seeks to contribute to the latter
area, through a case‐study of a voluntary self‐regulation initiative in
1
Here, we understand integrity in the civic sector in a manner similar to the way it has been defined for the public sector: “the consistent alignment of, and adherence to, shared ethical values,
principles and norms for upholding and prioritizing the public interest over private interests.” OECD (2017, p. 6).
2
For some examples, see Gugerty (2009) and Prakash and Gugerty (2010).
70
-
Public Admin Dev. 2023;43:70–79.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pad© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting