MEXICO CITY.- In its eagerness to generate a unique credential for all Mexicans, the Mexican Government now wants to control the biometric data of citizens ... and these have responded emphatically: no.
The #YoNoAutorizo label became a trend after the Mexican Ministry of Interior formally requested the National Electoral Institute (INE) to share the data that the INE, autonomous and impartial body, has protected for decades.
The INE president advisor, Lorenzo Córdova, said he rejected the request because it violates the data protection law, but that negotiations will remain open.
In reaction, citizens shared messages like these on social networks:
https://twitter.com/Mon_2716/status/1220182657507758080?s=20
Unlike countries like the United States, which collects biometric information with the Department of Homeland Security and Justice, in Mexico that information is not guarded or accessible to the federal government.
And it is that many Mexicans distrust that the authorities can correctly protect the data, which include fingerprints, facial photographs and iris and retina captures.
In November there was a hacking of the state oil company, Pemex, and cyber attackers even demanded ransom to release the affected information and computers .
This January, in addition, the National Population Registry (RENAPO), which would control the biometric database if it is transferred to the government, was harshly criticized for not giving notice or explanation to thousands of people whose unique identity keys began to shed error messages and "does not exist".
When Noticias Telemundo uncovered the problem, RENAPO authorities first said there were no failures and it was until several days later, before the flood of complaints, that they had to acknowledge that they did detect an error. They still don't explain what it was all about, despite the requests made by Telemundo News.
Single identification
The Ministry of the Interior says that it wants to collect the data of around 90 million people in order to create a single identity card or identity card for Mexicans.
So far, people in Mexico have a variety of official identifications that they present to various authorities: the voter's credential, passport, driver's license, social security number, the tax registry.
The closest to a unique and valid identifier in several procedures is the CURP ... the same key with which a large number of Mexicans had problems at the beginning of January.
The last three governments of Mexico, from 2006 to date, have tried to establish the unique identity card, without success despite millions in funds spent.
Biometric data in Mexico were protected by the autonomous agency INE, as part of the electoral roll, partly because of the historical suspicion of Mexicans that government officials committed electoral fraud with the data or misused it.
Córdova, the INE's president advisor, stressed that the request to deliver the data was rejected on the grounds that the Law on Protection of Personal Data does not allow them to share any of the information.
https://twitter.com/lorenzocordovav/status/1220068746523316224?s=20
Another electoral advisor, Ciro Murayama, stressed that “the data belongs to the citizens, not the INE; the INE protects them ”. He clarified that they cannot be delivered “without the express consent of each citizen to anyone, including the secretariat”.
However, that ministry indicated that it will continue insisting to obtain the required information, in the opinion that its only intention is to give “the Mexicans the right to identity”.
Read more about the topic:
They erase Mexicans from the population register without any warning: "I no longer exist in the database"
The new USCIS rule on biometric data and who it impacts