Institutional innovation for accountability: The National Anti-Corruption System in Mexico

The adoption of comprehensive institutional reforms that will establish the basis for improving the rule of law and accountability is needed to combat corruption. Nonetheless, this article posits that for these reforms to be effective the rigorous and sustained support of decisive actors is needed....

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Monsivais-Carrillo, Alejandro
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:Ecuador
Institución:Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales
Repositorio:Revista ICONOS
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:iconos.flacsoandes.edu.ec:article/3793
Acceso en línea:https://iconos.flacsoandes.edu.ec/index.php/iconos/article/view/3793
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Institutional change
corruption
democracy
legality
Mexico
accountability
mudança institucional
corrupção
democracia
legalidade
México
prestação de contas
cambio institucional
corrupción
legalidad
Mèxico
rendición de cuentas
Descripción
Sumario:The adoption of comprehensive institutional reforms that will establish the basis for improving the rule of law and accountability is needed to combat corruption. Nonetheless, this article posits that for these reforms to be effective the rigorous and sustained support of decisive actors is needed. Otherwise, no matter how progressive or innovative these reforms may seem on paper, institutional innovations could become ineffectual or cancelled de facto. This article advances this argument by providing an analysis of México’s National Anti-Corruption System (SNA). The SNA represents the case of an institutional innovation aimed at rebuilding accountability in a country characterized by persistent and pervasive political corruption. The analysis shows that SNA emerged from a legislative process that included the effective intervention of a network of experts and specialized organizations in this subject during a politically favorable moment due to corruption scandals that affected the incumbent government. As a result, the original initiative proposed by the government was replaced by a much more ambitious and progressive institutional framework. The analysis also shows that the SNA has been confronted with different challenges at a national and local level. Specifically, the ambivalent and weak commitment towards this system, highlighted by key actors in decisive moments, has limited its full implementation.