Resumen

TRELLES, Alejandro; ALTMAN, Micah; MAGAR, Eric  y  MCDONALD, Michael P.. Open Data, Transparency and Redistricting in Mexico. Polít. gob [online]. 2016, vol.23, n.2, pp.331-364. ISSN 1665-2037.

The many complaints and protests by citizens generated by the deterioration of the political elite in recent decades are clear evidence, among other things, of the urgent need to strengthen the connections between citizens and their representatives. To this end, the delimitation of the electoral boundaries -also known as redistricting- is key to improve political representation. Given the many technicalities involved in this processes -geographic, statistical, digital, among the most obvious- it is easy to succumb to the temptation of relegating it to specialists and lose sight of its importance for democracy. From our perspective, the use of new technologies, as well as the generation and use of open data, offer an opportunity to strengthen political representation. In this article we discuss Mexico's redistricting experience, the challenges in terms of transparency, and how certain tools -such as open source software and online mapping tools- have a tremendous potential for increasing the levels of transparency, participation, and accountability surrounding boundary delimitation.

Palabras llave : open data; transparency; redistricting; public mapping; open source software; political representation; participation; gerrymandering; minority groups.

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