Mexico has made significant progress in the digitalisation of its government through the years, even though there’s still plenty of room to improve. It is one of the most digitally advanced countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and soon – the world.
Mexico has made tremendous progress in the last few years, and it’s not just because of its booming economy. It’s also due to how they’ve embraced the digital world. The use of technology in Mexico has grown over the past few decades, and now it is a central part of their government operations. What started as a basic e-government system has evolved into a much more complex and sophisticated digital government that benefits citizens and businesses alike.
They have made huge strides in recent years with e-government or digital government services. In this article, we’ll explore how the country’s e-government program has evolved from a starting point of providing only basic information to eventually getting its citizens involved in decisions that affect them directly.
The Evolution of Digital Government in Mexico
The Mexican government started to use information and communication technologies (ICT) in the 1990s, though there was no central government e-Government strategy. The Institute for Statistics, Geography, and Informatics (INEGI) was in charge of the Mexican government’s IT policy. In 2001, the president officially introduced e-government as an initiative to digitalise and modernise the government. Since then, Mexico has sought to make the most of its digital opportunities to improve government performance.
The National Digital Strategy Coordination Office was created under President Enrique Peña Nieto in 2012. In six years, significant progress was achieved and by 2014, Mexico jumped from 8th digital government in Latin America to 1st. The government’s official portal, gob.mx has been a powerful force in the country’s transformation. It provides easy access to information such as public tenders, information on business permits and forms, and basic information about how citizens can interact with their local mayor or governor. This site also allows citizens to leave their opinions about public programs that concern them via social media channels.
The government’s achievements in terms of the open data policy and digitalisation are reflected in Mexico’s 61st ranking in the 2020 UN E-Government Survey. It ranked 64th in 2018, and while other countries fell behind on their policies and implementation during the pandemic, this was not the case with Mexico. Also, I believe it is critical to mention the fact that it’s a leader compared with countries with similar per capita GDPs – a laudable standing.
A Successful Journey
Since 2012, Mexico has delivered outstanding results in line with the objectives of its National Digital Strategy. It has set up essential initiatives, such as MéxicoX, an online learning platform for specialised and academic training for teachers, benefiting millions of users. Similarly, prende.mx is a knowledge-sharing platform for teachers on using technology as part of the learning process.
InteroperaMX (inspired by the Estonian X-Road) is a platform that allows government agencies to securely share reliable and trustworthy data. This effort, which has been operational since 2018, is driven by the vision of having the user only provide the same information once to the public sector.
Today, roughly 90% of government transactions can be initiated online, and 75% can be completed digitally. According to data, only 10% of Mexicans reported recently using digital channels to carry out government tasks, and those tasks often require several interactions.
What Can You Expect?
If Mexican government leaders want to see the meaningful economic and societal benefits that come from having a digital government, there are some initiatives they could consider. After all, the challenge of enabling and sustaining digital transformation is more human than technical. Governments are the custodian of the trust given by their citizens. Their purpose is to advance the society they serve. It is therefore important for them to remain customer-centric, embracing change and evolving. Thus, public sector organisations should empower digital transformation officers, who in turn will be in a better position to work closely with politicians.
For any country, developing a vision for how it will approach innovation is essential. For Mexican policymakers dedicated to creating a digital economy, that means defining what that means and making sure there is buy-in on how their policies align with that vision. It also means helping stakeholders like business leaders and legislators understand why those policies matter, why they should be involved, and how they create value. Once those policy priorities are identified, governments can figure out which resources (money, time, human capital) will be needed and how they’ll fit into existing priorities like new IT systems or programs like financial literacy.
Because technology is rapidly evolving, Mexico might benefit from a plan to quickly upgrade its government systems to attract the best tech talent to the public sector. Using a real-world example. The rapid evolution of technology is changing the way people experience digital services. And it’s not just about getting cool new apps and devices—more important is how all this affects the routine government services people rely on every day.
Sources:
https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/en-us/data/country-information/id/110-mexico
https://www.oecd.org/publications/digital-government-in-mexico-6db24495-en.htm
