Historia de las bibliotecas públicas en Colombia

Civil organisations have obtained increasing recognition within civil society for the collective value of their activities. First, as contributors to the consolidation of democratic governability in the 1990s, and recently as relevant participants in promoting better governance. Without a doubt this has been a radical change in the role civil organisations play in Mexico, compared to the early 1980s, when the very notion of non-governmental or non-profit organisations did not even exist. These concepts were at that time an analytic category among academics or a refined reference in the language of some professional policy analysts. Things are very different now. Although, theoretically speaking, the conceptual problem persists (e.g. non-profit organisations vs. civil organisations), they are currently perceived as key components of citizen participation and as legitimate actors in promoting

issues of public concern (Pérez Yarahuán and García-Junco, 1998). Even among the most reticent public officials who do not feel comfortable working with these organisations, the prevalent opinion is that their contributions are desirable.

These perceptions, however, are combined with a lack of knowledge that both researchers and practitioners would like to improve upon. In Mexico, information and organised data regarding the number of civil organisations, their activities, the labour force they represent, the extent to which their projects are effective or at least the record of evaluation efforts, are scarce and incomplete. Besides, the quality and inter-temporal comparability of this information varies enormously.

Quantifying the numbers of organisations that currently exist in Mexico, for example, is not as easy a task as it may seem. Today, it is not possible to determine precisely how many civil organisations there are in the country.

Several calculations have been made, especially since the late 1980s, but the available information is neither up-to-date, nor sufficient enough to describe satisfactorily the number or types of activities. Figures of approximately 4 000 organisations are suggested by several governmental records, but some researchers or independent records claim the existence of over 10 000. Of course, a reciprocal distrust (government-civil organisations), as it is mentioned above, is partly the cause of this difference, but there are other reasons to take into account.

One of these reasons is that national statistics do not take into account NPS organisations in their studies and publications. Not only is this a governmental fault, it is also in the interests of civil organisations to remain out of the reach of any signal of official intervention or control. This situation, however, affects both the civil society and the government. There is no agency or organisation, public or private, which systematically conducts statistical studies on the civil organisations sector. The most relevant efforts regarding this problem have been the initiatives of some organisations themselves, which combine their daily activities with the collection of data and statistical analysis. The reach of the available studies is, however, very limited and the quality of the information is questionable. There are also structural problems in the organisations that provide information. Most of them do not give accurate responses due to a number of incentives mainly related to the fiscal benefits they enjoy or the enhancement of their public recognition.

The scope of the analysis has also been insufficient. Many studies have focused their attention on the legal constitution of the organisations, which in Mexico can be either “civil association” (AC) or “public assistance association”

(IAP). However, there are many other organisations that are not registered under either of these two forms. Due to distrust regarding the fiscal

obligations of being an AC or IAP organisation or because their interests are in conflict with the responsibilities implied by these forms, a number of civil organisations actively avoid being registered. Studies carried out by universities and research centres are also incomplete. Most organisations refuse to answer questions that might compromise their interests or represent a possibility of external control. Researchers openly declare that obtaining accurate information on financing is a conflictive task.

There is a very positive perception about civil organisations within the higher levels of the government that should be complemented with proper information to match accountability expectations that are not yet fulfilled.

This fact has been mainly realised and stressed by certain scholars (see, for example, Aguilar, 1997, 2001; Brito, 1997; and Méndez, 1998).

In Mexico, the most recent information is provided by three recognised civil networking organisations (Mexican Center for Philanthropy, CEMEFI;

Mutual Support Forum, FAM; and DEMOS Foundation), a research centre of the Metropolitan University (Center for Information on Civil Organisations, C E DIOC ) a n d a govern m ent ag ency (Inf or ma ti on Sy stem f or C ivi l Organisations, SIOS, at the National Institute for Social Development, INDESOL). Their results show important differences in their figures and they are evidence of the necessary heterogeneity in criteria in deciding the statistical samples and questionnaire designs.

In two research works carried out in 1998 by both DEMOS and FAM, the results showed that the presence of civil organisations in the states is minimal compared to Mexico City (Brito, 1997). Out of 3 451 organisations, 52 per cent are in Mexico City and the remaining 48 per cent are distributed all over the M exican territory. In 2001, SIOS published a report in which out of 3 846 organisations, 31 per cent are in Mexico City and the remaining 69 per cent are spread over the rest of the country.

In 1999, CEMEFI and FAM accepted as valid a range from 5 000 to 6 000 organisations, but in 2001, SIOS and CEDIOC identified 3 846 and 10 852 respectively (PROCURA, 2001). The important differences among these results demonstrate that today it is still not possible to determine accurately the total number of these organisations in Mexico. Because almost all organisations are unable to conduct yearly research, carrying out inter-temporal analysis is extremely difficult. There is, therefore, an obstacle to measuring the growth rate of the third sector in Mexico. SIOS also reports that out of 3 846, 30 per cent work at local level, 10 per cent in municipalities, 16 per cent regionally, 16 per cent in states, 22 per cent at country level, and six per cent internationally. Although there is some data about Mexico City regarding funding, this type of information is scarce and incomplete.

Of course, it is unlikely that there are only 3 846 organisations in Mexico.

This number was obtained from the detailed examination of 16 000 records (5 000 in Mexico City and 11 000 in the remaining states of the country). The detailed examination process implied important problems in the quality of information. Overcoming these problems is a necessary condition in determining the real magnitude of civil organisations in Mexico.