{"id":622,"date":"2011-08-23T20:04:31","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T22:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/observingbrazil.com\/?p=622"},"modified":"2019-09-09T01:18:53","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T01:18:53","slug":"brazils-long-awaited-freedom-of-information-bill-once-again-under-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregmichener.com\/blog\/brazils-long-awaited-freedom-of-information-bill-once-again-under-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil’s Long-Awaited Freedom of Information Bill Once Again Under Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As President in 1990, before impeachment in 1992<\/p><\/div>\n

Brazil\u2019s long-awaited freedom of information law is once again under threat. Senator and disgraced ex-President Fernando Collor, who was impeached in 1992 by the very Senate he now serves, has proposed radical revisions to the freedom of information bill 41\/2010. These changes constitute a clear affront to President Dilma Rousseff, who has supported passage of the measure, to the Chamber of Deputies, which approved the bill in 2010, and to the three Senate committees that have already endorsed the measure in 2011. As Chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense, Collor holds a powerful position in the Senate. But the amendments proposed are so retrograde that Collor should hardly be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

A freedom of information law is viewed to be one of the principal pillars of transparency and social accountability needed to better combat endemic corruption in Brazil.<\/p>\n

Will the Senate Cooperate with Rousseff?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given Senator Collor\u2019s intent, the freedom of information bill will almost certainly forfeit normal legislative<\/p>\n

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Collor more recently<\/p><\/div>\n

procedure. President Dilma Rousseff will have to work with Senate leader Jos\u00e9 Sarney to either a) issue an \u201curgency petition\u201d in order to force the bill out of committee, for an open floor vote, or b) pursue a floor vote that will ultimately approve the bill as it stood before Collor’s amendments. If the Senator’s amendments are approved, the bill will likely go back to the Chamber of Deputies to expire. What stands in the way of a successful urgency petition is Senate leader Jos\u00e9 Sarney, who has already indicated his opposition to the bill<\/a>. Without the Senate leader\u2019s cooperation, moving forward with the urgency petition may be impossible.<\/p>\n

In light of recent revelations of corruption by government watchdogs<\/a>, which have predominantly fallen on parties within Rousseff\u2019s coalition (including Sarney\u2019s PMDB), a strategy to delay or even amend the freedom of information law may be just the revenge that congressional allies have been looking for. A defeat in the Senate would be an embarrassing step backwards for the Brazilian government, especially after its recent pledge to co-chair the Open Government Partnership<\/a>, an international initiative whose very intent is openness and transparency.<\/p>\n

The amendments proposed by Collor<\/strong> are numerous, but here are just a few highlights:<\/p>\n