{"id":1224,"date":"2019-01-26T16:43:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T16:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.observingbrazil.com\/?p=1224"},"modified":"2019-09-09T01:18:51","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T01:18:51","slug":"bolsonaros-turn-to-secrecy-weakening-brazils-freedom-of-information-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/bolsonaros-turn-to-secrecy-weakening-brazils-freedom-of-information-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolsonaro’s Turn to Secrecy – Weakening Brazil’s Freedom of Information Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally published in Folha de S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a>, authored by Gregory Michener and Irene Niskier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Jair Bolsonaro was elected based on two noble promises: advance the rule of law to fight crime and corruption, and strengthen Brazil\u2019s fiscal position by creating a more efficient state. Transparency is a precondition for advancing both of these promises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how does a decision to greatly expand secrecy (decree\n9690) in government contribute to realizing Bolsonaro\u2019s promises? It does not; it\ndoes exactly the opposite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is at Stake for\nTransparency in Brazil<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday\u2019s decree greatly increased the number of public\nservants who have the authority to classify information as secret or reserved. Before\nthe decree, only ministers and a handful of other high authorities could\nclassify information as ultrasecret (25 year reserve). Now over a 1000 high\nauthorities (DAS 6 and DAS 5), many of them appointed (as opposed to career\npublic servants), will have this power. Thousands of other authorities now have\nthe authority to classify information as \u2018reserved\u2019, which entails a 5-year\nsequestration. In sum, the measure increased the number of people who have the\npower to make public information off-limits to the public. Practically, a\ngreater number of officials empowered to hide information means there will be greater\nabuse; information will be inappropriately classified, regardless if it meets\nofficial exemptions or not. Increases in secrecy claims should translated into more\ndifficult access and a greater number of appeals, increasing backlog.\nPractically and symbolically, the decree threatens to kill the effectiveness of\nBrazil\u2019s access to information law (ley 12.527\/2011).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is at Stake for\nBrazil<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What is at stake is a fundamental political right \u2013 the\nright to access government information \u2013 and one that is powerfully articulated\nby Brazil\u2019s Access to Information Law (12.527). According to a recent study by\nthe FGV\u2019s Public Transparency Program (RAP), which looks at more than a\nthousand requests sent to the federal government, the LAI is effective in\npromoting relatively high levels of responsiveness. What is also at stake are\nBrazil\u2019s numerous regional and international commitments to transparency and\nopenness, its ambitions to be a part of the Organization of Economic\nCooperation and Development, and its credibility in issuing statements about\nthe erosion of democracy in countries such as Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This government and Brazil will pay heavy reputational costs\nif decree 9960 is not abrogated. However, the President still deserves a chance\nto make things right. Notably, the decree was signed by Vice President Hamilton\nMourao and Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzetti while Bolsonaro was out of the\ncountry – as if by stealth. Now back in Brazil, it is critical that President\nBolsonaro make good on his promises for transparency and abrogate Decree 9960 as\nsoon as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Administration Riven by Contradiction<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, the prospects for a quick reversal of the\nsecrecy decree are not good. Intensifying secrecy fits into a pattern that is\nraising alarm. Earlier this month Bolsonaro emitted a measure (MP 870\/2019)\nthat would \u201csupervise, coordinate, monitor, and accompany<\/a>[GM1]<\/a> \nthe activities and actions of international organizations and non-governmental\norganizations within the national territory\u201d. Increased secrecy and\nsurveillance are the sort of phenomena we would expect of Venezuela, or other\nauthoritarian enclaves, but certainly not a country whose leaders and institutions\ncry out for greater openness and civic initiative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear that the government\u2019s move towards secrecy is emblematic\nof conflicts that loom large inside the administration. On the one hand, the signatories\nof the secrecy law, General Mour\u00e3o and Minister Lorenzetti, represent\nBolsonaro\u2019s primary political and military confidants, roles that lend\nthemselves towards secrecy. On the other hand, Bolsonaro\u2019s rule-of-law and\neconomic lieutenants, Ministers Sergio Moro and Paulo Guedes, have clear\nresponsibilities to come to transparency\u2019s defense, as governmental openness is\nintrinsic to their policy aspirations and Bolsonaro\u2019s policy pledges. This\nsituation augurs an inevitable showdown between a regressive and hermetic\nstatism of old – whose results are clear to see \u2013 and a Brazil that aspires\ntowards greater openness and efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Bolsonaro intends to follow through with his promises and\nput \u201cBrazil above all else\u201d, he has a responsibility to abrogate decree 9690. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

 [GM1]<\/a>supervisionar, coordenar, monitorar\ne acompanhar as atividades e as a\u00e7\u00f5es dos organismos internacionais e das\norganiza\u00e7\u00f5es n\u00e3o governamentais no territ\u00f3rio nacional\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published in Folha de S\u00e3o Paulo, authored by Gregory Michener and Irene Niskier. President Jair Bolsonaro was elected based on two noble promises: advance the rule of law to fight crime and corruption, and strengthen Brazil\u2019s fiscal position by creating a more efficient state. Transparency is a precondition for advancing both of these promises. Read more about Bolsonaro’s Turn to Secrecy – Weakening Brazil’s Freedom of Information Law<\/span>[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[178,65,181,12],"class_list":["post-1224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bolsonaro","tag-freedom-of-information","tag-secrecy","tag-transparency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1601,"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1224\/revisions\/1601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}