Friday, April 10, 2009

Rereading Lujambio

I randomly happened across a recent interview with the new Secretary of Public Education Alonso Lujambio, when he was still in charge of the Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI). (It's about a quarter of the way down on the page linked.) Here's what he had to say about the SEP at the time:
Alejandro Montes de Oca: Is it necessary that the culture of transparency and accountability has greater weight in the plans and programs of the national educational system?

Alonzo Lujambio Irazábal: In principle, we're satisfied with what the article 7 of the General Law of Education dictates, in its seventh section. The free textbook of fourth grade of elementrary school already discusses the basic elements of the right of access to information; the process of socialization could always be deeper, but it's on its way. We have found that in Congress and the SEP all the cooperation so that this continues on its way in the best sense. 

A greater coordination with the SEP [and the IFAI] isn't lacking, for example?
We're content that that modification has been created. We want to go step by step and we'll be happy to see what we have in this moment. It's a movement in the right direction. We are always open to exploring new routes of operation in the near future. 

The level of transparency in the universities, where could be place it?
The IFAI isn't the competent authority to judge the transparency in the universities. Because UNAM and UAM are not subject to the authority of the IFAI, I wouldn't venture to make a measured judgment in that regard. 
He talks like quite the politician: lots of words, nothing to sink your teeth into. I don't know when the interview took place, or if he was already auditioning to be Vázquez's replacement, but it sure reads like he was. 

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