Dear Tnam
The passage of time brings changes to the life of the citizen and that of the people in general. A few years ago, the information that circulated regarding public services, the problems of the towns and the solutions that each government managed to specify was scarce. The municipal governments and the highest level authority in the country provided their work report and everything was left there. Now, thanks to the means available, a lot of information and data circulates regarding the essential public services of health, education, justice and security. So, in these circumstances, a well-informed neighbor with official data available can take a position on the quality, coverage and type of care received in public instances. The data and public information are available to citizens, students, researchers and organizations concerned that the efforts of the authorities and the proper use of public resources are achieving the expected results in the lives of each of the Guatemalan peoples. For access to public information there is the Disc. No. 57-2008 Law on Access to Public Information.
In public institutions, depending on the service they provide, there is data and information regarding the state of the health, education, justice services and the budget that they manage year following year. This information gives an idea of the health of different age groups of girls, boys, women and adults. Regarding information on school education, it is possible to find data from any municipality regarding how many students there are at the primary and secondary level, how many students attend the public sector and how many attend the private sector, how many public institutes and the private sector are working. Finally, there is information that many students only master 35% of reading comprehension in reading, which is why there are complaints from fathers and mothers because they realize that students who graduate from elementary school they dominate little reading. When talking regarding justice, it is possible to find data on domestic violence cases and how many are resolved in the year, how many people give up and why they give up. In the municipality of the place, it is possible to find information regarding the budget, projects executed and in execution, costs of the works and which sectors receive little or no attention.
A well-informed neighbor, with data in sight, can question why we are like this, where we are doing well, where there are problems and why we have not been able to move forward. Anyone who is interested in the well-being of families and communities can initiate an effort to demand the proper use of public resources, better care, more coverage, and suggest some improvement. It is clear that leaving the responsibility solely to the authorities and public sector workers means that the opinion of those who receive the effects of public services is absent. In events where there is participation of the citizenry and the population in general, there are possibilities that we all build democracy with small or large acts in a responsible manner.
With access to public information, we have the opportunity to know in numbers and in other ways how the development of the peoples of Guatemala is and when we question and contribute useful ideas, we are contributing responsibly to the construction of democracy and justice in any space of life in common.
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