OECD Integrity Review of Mexico: Taking a Stronger Stance Against Corruption

The Oecd's Integrity Review of Mexico is one of the first peer reviews to apply the new 2017 Recommendation of the Council on Public Integrity. It assesses i) the coherence and comprehensiveness of the evolving public integrity system; ii) the extent to which Mexico's new reforms cultivate a culture of integrity across the public sector; and iii) the effectiveness of increasingly stringent accountability mechanisms. In addition, the Review includes a sectoral focus on public procurement, one of the largest areas of government spending in the country and is considered a high-risk government activity for fraud and corruption. The Oecd finds that Mexico's recent integrity reforms have the potential to be "game-changers" in the country's fight against corruption, however, ensuring successful implementation remains the main challenge going forward. As such, the Review provides several proposals for action aimed at strengthening institutional arrangements and improving vertical and horizontal co-ordination, closing remaining gaps in various existing legal/policy frameworks (protection for whistle-blowers, risk management, administrative disciplinary procedures, etc.), as well as supporting awareness-raising and capacity-building efforts to instill integrity values and ensure the sustainability of reforms.