Transparencia, Comunicación y Participación Ciudadana en la Gestión Administrativa Municipal en Ecuador: Información Pública Sobre Covid-19

The objective of the study was to evaluate the public informationavailable on the official web portals of eight municipalities in Ecuador during thehealth crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, from the perspective of Ecuadoriancitizens, by applying indicators of the Infoparticipa methodology. To carry out theresearch, three phases were carried out; in the first phase, a bibliographic review was carried out to define the conceptual axes and the dependent and independentvariables involved, including access to information and citizen participation. Inthe second phase, a mixed approach was used to evaluate the public informationavailable on official web portals, applying quantitative evaluation indicators. Inaddition, a convenience survey was conducted with 646 people over 18 years of age,from a population of 11,511,613. The results were contrasted using hypothesis andchi-square (χ2) independence tests. In the third phase, the information available onthe official websites of the municipalities of Quito, Guayaquil, Rumiñahui, Sucúa,Latacunga, Loja, Joya de los Sachas and Cuenca was evaluated through the selectedindicators. The opinion of people, regardless of their gender, about the relationshipbetween corruption and the lack of public information was highlighted. Interestwas evident in having means and tools that facilitate access to information thatdirectly affects municipal government management.