Editorial – in Spanish and English. “The Paradox of Transparency: Lessons from the Fall of the INAI [National Institute for Access to Information in Mexico]. February 6, 2025, with Fernando Nieto Morales (Colégio de México).
Academic Article – “Fostering sustainable production via the Amazon Fund collaborative platform,” Sustainable Development. March 2024, with Eduardo Bizzo. Ungated pre-proof copy here.
Academic Article – “Transparency’s Impact on the Professionalization of Government,” Governance. December 2023, with Mariana Batista. Ungated pre-proof copy here.
Editorial – Modified English version of editorial below, posted on The Global Anticorruption Blog, 19 September, 2023. This Editorial received criticism from a Brazilian lawyer, which we responded to with a rebuttal, here.
Editorial – “Tofolli’s Decision Casts Doubt on Corruption Scandals” (“Decisão do Tofolli lança dúvidas sobre escândalos de corrupção.”) Folha de São Paulo. 12 de setembro de 2023. PDF here
Academic Article – “Compensatory collaborative governance: filling pandemic transparency gaps in Brazil and the United States”. Public Management Review. June 2023, with Eduardo Bizzo.
Newspaper Featured Research – “Businesses that Adhere to Fiscal Recuperation Programs End up with Fewer Jobs than Others, Accrording to Study.” (Empresa que adere ao Refis termina com menos empregos que as demais, segundo estudo”). Folha de São Paulo. June 2023.
Newspaper Editorial – “The Fire that Fuelled Brazil’s 2013 Protests Are Now Mere Embers”. The Globe and Mail (Canada). 8 June, 2023.
Academic Article – “Transparency Versus Populism”. Administration and Society. January 2022. (Available at SSRN).
Newspaper Editorial – “Many Bolsonaro supporters are deluded, but their concerns about Brazil ring true”. The Globe and Mail (Canada). 16 January, 2023.
Newspaper Editorial – “Brazilian Voters Are Choosing between Two Different Styles of Corruption (Eleitores brasileiros estão escolhendo entre dois tipos de corrupção diferente). The Globe and Mail (Canadá). 27 October, 2022.
Newspaper Editorial – “‘Secrecy of 100 Years’ and the Real Challenge to Overcome it.” Folha de São Paulo. With Marcio Cunha Filho. 5 October, 2022.
Newspaper Editorial – “Factual Insecurity, Transparency and the Elections in Brazil.” Nexo. With Virginia Rocha. 29 September, 2022.
Newspaper Editorial – “Access to Information Turns 10 Years, Creates Roots and Finds its Structure under Attack.” Folha de São Paulo. With Francisco Gaetani. 13 May, 2022.
Academic Article – “Local Compliance with National Transparency Legislation.” Government Information Quarterly. With Simeon Nichter (UCSD). December, 2021.
Academic Article – “The Remoteness of Democratic Representation.” Party Politics. With Octavio Amorim Neto (FGV-EBAPE) and Jamil Civitarese (PhD Applicant, Msc EBAPE). October, 2021.
Academic Article – “President Bolsonaro’s Promises and Actions on Corruption Control.” Revista Direito GV. With Paul Lagunes (Georgetown), Fernanda Odilla (University of Bologna) and Breno Pires (Estado de SP). August 2021.
Academic Article – “To blow the whistle in Brazil: The impact of gender and public service motivation.” Regulation & Governance. With Gustavo Tavares (Insper) and Fabiana Vieira Lima (CGU). June, 2021.
Academic Article – “Are governments complying with transparency? Findings from 15 years of evaluation.” Government Information Quarterly. With Jonas Coelho and Davi Moreira. February, 2021.
Research reports undertaken and presented to the Office of the Comptroller General of Brazil and participating organizations in the Open Government Partnership. Dezembro, 2020 (in portuguese):
- Relatório – Report on subnational compliance with Brazil’s freedom of information law.
- Relatório – Report on the determinants of municipal transparency in Brazil (with Simeon Niskier – UCSD).
Editorial – “O paradoxo da transparência municipal” (The Paradox of Municipal Transparency). Nexo. 16 December, 2020. with Bernardo Schwaitzer.
Chapter – “A transparência piorou no governo Bolsonaro?” (Has Transparency Worsened in Bolsonaro Administration?). In eds. Michael Mohallem and Thiago Bottino, Estado, Justiça e Sociedade (The State, Justice and Society). November 2020.
Interview – “Falta de punição leva prefeitos a ignorarem a Lei de Acesso à Informação, dizem analistas” (Lack of enforcement encourages mayors to ignore access to information law, analysts say). Estado de São Paulo. 23 November, 2020.
Academic Article – “Internal Transparency: Compliance and Punishment in the Budgetary Process of Brazilian Municipalities.” Revista de Administração Pública. October 2020. with Tassia Cruz and Bernardo Andretti.
Editorial – “Constitution Makes Clear that Secrecy is the Exception, Transparency the Rule.” Folha de São Paulo. with Michael Mohallem (FGV School of Law, Rio de Janeiro). 10 June, 2020.
Editorial – “Has Transparency Gotten Worse During the Bolsonaro Administration?” Folha de São Paulo. with Michael Mohallem (FGV School of Law, Rio de Janeiro). 1 March, 2020.
Presentation – “The Fight for Transparency and Against Corruption is Making Headway in Latin America?”. Text in Spanish here ¿La lucha por la transparencia y contra la corrupción está avanzando en América Latina?, presentation here. Invited to give keynote talk at the Pontífica Universidad Católica de Perú, Aula Magna. November 2019.
Academic Article – “Brazil’s Information Ecosystem: What is Transparency’s Impact?” Revista da Controladoria Geral da União. October 2019.
Academic Article – “Googling the Requester: Identity-Questing and Discrimination in Public Service Provision. Governance. May 2019. With Rafael Velasco, Evelyn Contreras and Karina Rodrigues Furtado.
Editorial – “Legality, Legitimacy, and Logic – Why Expanding Secrecy is a Bad Idea.” Jornal Globo. 17 February, 2019. Co-authored with Irene Niskier.
Editorial – “Secrecy Decree Jeopardizes Bolsonaro’s Promises.” Folha de São Paulo. 26 January, 2019. Co-authored with Irene Niskier.
Report – “Ensuring Impartiality through Identity-Neutrality Provisions: the Case of Freedom of Information in Brazil.” Submitted a report for the OECD on a policy innovation partly inspired by FGV Public Transparency Program Research.
Academic Article – “Gauging the Impact of Transparency Policies.” Public Administration Review. Early View (December 2018).
Presented – Conference, “Managing Global Governance: A Digital Agenda for Sustainable Development – Perspectives from Brazil – and Beyond.” Organized by FGV-EBAPE and German Development Institute, December, 2018.
Presented – Seminar, “Rethinking Anticorruption Efforts in Brazil”, organized by American University, the Tribunais de Contas, and the National School of Public Administration (ENAP), November, 2018.
Article – “The Need of Identification as a Barrier to Access of Information: Evidence and Practice in Brazil and around the World”. Administração Pública e Gestão Social. 10:04, p.303-315, co-authored with Karina Furtado Rodrigues, 2018.
Editorial – A Lost Opportunity: Candidates to President Have No Firm Commitments to Transparency. Written with Irene Nisker for Revista Época, 28 September, 2018.
Consulted – On draft of new Inter-American Model Access to Information Law, at Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia. Hosted by Organization of American States, and invited by Artigo 19, Brazil, September, 2018.
Cited – In Estado de São Paulo article, “Government Will Protect Identity for those Who Ask for Public Information”, August 11, 2018
Article – “From Opacity to Transparency? Evaluating Access to Information in Brazil Five Years Later”. Revista de Administração Pública. 52, p.610-629, co-authored with Evelyn Contreras and Irene Niskier, 2018.
Participated – As one of three invited scholars in the Seminar, “What do we measure when we measure transparency? A Conceptual and Methodological Discussion”, at CIDE in Mexico, with Alejandra Rios-Cazares, Daniel Berliner, and Pablo Sanabria (panels with NGOs and Government Officials). June 23rd and 24th, 2018.
Book Chapter – “Transparency as Leverage or Transparency as Monitoring? U.S. and Nordic Paradigms in Latin America”. Written for the book Troubling Transparency, co-edited by David Pozen and Michael Schudson. Published by Columbia University Press, 2018.
Presented – At SEPLAN (State Planning Secretaries from all of Brazil’s states). Meeting hosted by the Governor of Maranhão, Flávio Dino (see pic), June, 2018.
Presented – Seminar: “Transparency of Independent “Watchdogs”: deliberation, agendas, and negotiations.” Organized by FGV-DIREITO, featuring a keynote by David Pozen (Columbia University).
Presented – At Latin American Studies Association, Barcelona. Working Paper: “Transparency Impact and Compliance –
A Survey of the Landscape with Insights from Latin America,” May, 2018.
Interviewed – for Rádio CBN: “Controladoria de São Paulo Terá o Sexto Comandante em Cinco Anos” (São Paulo Comptroller’s Office Will Have Its Sixth Commander in Five Years”, 19 April, 2018.
Consulting – Created report that ultimately contributed to changing the law (law 13.460, Article 10) in order to allow freedom of information requesters to choose anonymity when making requests. Plano de Ação 2018 do Brasil (2018 Action Plan for Brazil), Open Government Partnership, with Karina Furtado, 2018.
Interviewed – “Em nota, ex-controladora alertou sobre ‘retrocesso’.” Estado de São Paulo, 9 November, 2017.
Editorial – “Saving subnational Transparency” (“Salvando a Transparência Subnacional”). Written with Karina Furtado for Folha de São Paulo, 10 November, 2017.
Editorial – Lei de Acesso à Informação Faz 5 Anos com Avanços e Limitações (Brazilian Access to Information Law Turns 5 with Improvements and Limitations). Written with Irene Niskier for Folha de São Paulo, 30 September, 2017.
Editorial – Lei de Acesso à Informação, 5 Anos: Como Impulsionar o Cumprimento? (Access to Information Law After 5 Years: How to Boost Compliance?). Written with Rafael Velasco for Tribuna do Advogado (OAB – Monthly Magazine with a circulation of 150K sent to all lawyers in Brazil -), 1 September, 2017.
Interviewed – for IstoÉ Dinheiro: “Acordo no Peru Não Altera Veto a Projetos Públicos para Odebrecht, Diz Porta-voz” (Deal in Peru Does Not Change Veto to Public Projects for Odebrecht, Says Spokesperson), 5 January, 2017.
Interviewed for Globo News at seminar held at FGV on 5th anniversary of Brazil’s access to information law, 16 May, 2017.
Working Draft – “Opacity to Transparency? Evaluating Brazil’s Access to Information Law at 5 Years.” for a Seminar at the FGV on 5 years of the Access to Public Information Law, 16 May, 2017.
Interviewed for “Rádio Justiça”, May 15, 2017.
Interviewed – for Globo News (TV): Tribunais de Justiça de seis estados descumprem regra de transparência (Six State Courts Flout Transparency Rules). 24 March, 2017.
Interviewed – for Istoédinheiro: “Acordo no Peru não altera veto a projetos públicos para Odebrecht, diz porta-voz” (Agreement with Peru does not alter the closure of public projects for Odebrecht, says spokesperson), January 5, 2016.
Article – “Comparing Resistance to Open Data Performance Measurement: Public Education in Brazil and the UK”, Public Administration, (Early view 23 November, 2016), co-authored with Otavio Ritter.
Cited – in Folha de São Paolo, “Crivella não se compromete a abrir caixa preta da prefeitura”, October 27, 2016.
Presented – at the CRCMS (Regional Accounting Council, Mato Grosso do Sul), October 27, 2016
Editorial – for O Globo, with Daniel Vargas “Transparência Municipal” (Municipal Transparency), October 1, 2016.
Interviewed – for Globo News: “Lei de acesso à informação tem pouca abrangência, diz pesquisa da FGV” (Freedom of information law has little reach, FGV research finds).
Edited Volume – (Portuguese – forthcoming, English) Transparência Local no Brasil: Avaliando a Aplicação da Lei de Acesso nos Estados e nos Grandes Municípios (Local Transparency in Brazil: Evaluating the Application of the Access to Information Law in the States and Large Cities).
Cited – in O País, Brasil, “Aposentadoria, com salário, até para magistrado que vendeu sentença”, October 8, 2016.
Interviewed – for Apublica – “Quem julga o juiz?” (Who judges the Judge), 21 September, 2016.
Article – “A Great Leap Forward for Democracy and the Rule of Law? Brazil’s Mensalão Trial.” Journal of Latin American Studies. 48:03, p.477-507.
Cited – in Foreign Policy piece by Alex Cuadros, “Drawing Back the Curtain on Brazil’s Rotten Political System”, July 14, 2016.
Spoke – at Columbia University FOIA@50 conference, celebrating 50 years of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. June 4, 2016.
Interviewed – for Zero Hora: “Especialistas dizem que situação de Silveira era insustentável”, by Carlos Rollsing, May 31, 2016.
Cited– in the New York Times article, “Brazil’s Graft-Prone Congress: A Circus That Even Has a Clown”, May 15, 2016.
Interviewed– for National Public Radio news, released May 11, 2016.
Interviewed– for New York Times article by Andrew Jacobs, “Dilma Rousseff, Facing Impeachment in Brazil, Has Alienated Many Allies”, quoted in last paragraph. May 2, 2016.
Interviewed– for BYU radio program, Top of Mind. April 27, 2016.
Cited– in the Atlantic Magazine on Brazil’s legislative party system and recommendations for reform. April 19, 2016.
Interviewed– for Christian Science Monitor on the political and corruption crises afflicting Brazil. April 15, 2016.
Invited– Controladoria Geral da União invited the FGV Public Transparency Program to serve as one of four civil society entities participating in the Open Government Partnership’s 3rd Action Plan. Our role is to determine what steps can be taken to improve access to public information in Brazil.
Report– “Police Transparency: Evaluating Access to Information in Relation to the Policing of Public Gatherings in Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom”, co-authored with Rafael Velasco and Sandra Coliver of the Open Society Justice Initiative, December 2015.
Interviewed– for O Dia on opacity in Rio’s Audit Courts, 28 September, 2015.
Television interview– for Globo News (canal 40) and live interview– for Globo News at 6pm, 26 August, 2015.
Interviewed– for article on access to information in the Estado de São Paolonewspaper, August 26, 2015
Presented– invited to give the “National Presentation” on freedom of information in Brazil and Latin America at the III Workshop on Systems Transparency (WTRANS), Manaus, 18 August, 2015.
Interviewed– for article in national news magazine Época, “Are Public Administrators Really Transparent?”, 6 July, 2015.
Article– published in journal, Administration & Society, The Information-Gathering Matrix: A Framework for Conceptualizing the Use of Freedom of Information Laws”, early view June 2015. Please write me for a copy.
News– Invited by Columbia University to participate in a conference on the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act and write a chapter for a symposium compilation on the same.
Paper– in panel on Transparency at APSA, Saturday (2:30-3:45), 5 September Panel
Article– published in journal, World Development, Evaluating Policy via Composite Indexes: Qualitative Lessons from International Transparency Policy Indexes, early view May, 2015. Volume 74, October 2015. Please write me for a copy.
Working Paper– “Who’s Asking? Assessing Discrimination in Transparency and Freedom of Information Regimes” Written with Karina Furtado Rodrigues for the Global Conference on Transparency Research, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland, 4-6 June, 2015.
News– Presentation on Transparency and Combating Corruption at the National Accounting Council (Conselho Nacional de Contabilidade), April 27, 2014.
Working Paper– “Why Policymakers Commit to Transparency: Legitimacy, Insurance, Monitoring and the Importance of the News Media as Mediator”, One of five working papers commissioned by the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency. Seminar on papers held at FGV, February 12 and 13, 2015.
News- seminar, “National Evaluation of Governmental Transparency”. Orchestrated the seminar as Coordinator of FGV’s Program for Public Transparency. Itinerary of seminar available here
Report– Estado brasileiro e transparência: Avaliando a aplicação da lei de acesso à informação”
Co-written for FGV and Open Society Foundations, 10 November, 2014.
Based on the research undertaken over a year for the Seminar,
“Avaliação Nacional de Transparência Governamental” (10 & 11 November 2014)
Working group/panel– Organized and Chaired a “Police Transparency Working Group” (p.11) at Open Government Partnership, Costa Rica Regional Meeting, November 2014. Participants included Karina Banfi, Gonzalo Marroquin Godoy (Guatemala), Carlos Pimentel (Dominican Republic), Ana Cristina Ruelas (Mexico), Joara Marchezini (Brazil), and Guillermo Araya Camacho (Costa Rica)
Video– Panel on Legislative and Judicial Transparency (I speak at 1:01) at National Transparency Week Celebrations, hosted by Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI – [now INAI]).
Article– Foreign Policy Magazine, The Subtle Art of the Brazilian Majority Written on commission with Carlos Pereira, October 3, 2014.
Blog post– Encouraging Freedom of Information Improvements in Brazil Written for the Open Government Partnership Blog, 18 July, 2014.
Editorial– Why Obliging Self-Identification is Wrong for Freedom of Information. Written for the online magazine, “Digital Rights” and available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. 2 April 2014.
Article– published in journal, Governance, How Cabinet Size and Legislative Conditions Shape the Strength of Transparency Laws, up on early-view since February 19th, 2014. Please write me for a copy.
Recognition– Brazil 2013, in Stories, best writing in English on Brazil, Folha de São Paulo, “Explaining Brazil’s Vinegar Revolt”, written with Chris Gaffney, June 2013.
Article– published in journal, Information Polity, Identifying Transparency, Written with Kate Bersch, published in June 2013.
Book Chapter– “Freedom of Information: A ‘Boutique’ Institution in Mexico” Written for the book The Right of Access to Information: A Users’. Vision (Derecho de acceso a la información. La visión de los usuarios) Published by FUNDAR and Gedisa and Edited by Cecile Lachenal (2013).
Editorial– “OpenGov Conversations: Greg Michener on Creating Effective Transparency Policies”. Piece written for the U.S.-based Sunlight Foundation.
Editorial– Explaining Brazil’s Vinegar Revolt. Opinion piece for Al Jazeera International, written with Chris Gaffney, 27 June, 2013, and featured in Folha de São Paolo.
Editorial– Cumprimento da lei exige ação coordenada dos órgãos públicos. Analysis, “Enforcement of Law Requires Coordinated Action Among Public Agencies”, Commissioned by the Folha de São Paulo, 27 May, 2013.
Interview– Municípios ainda bem longe da transparência. Interviewed for article in Jornal do Comercio, 18 May, 2013.
Invitation– World Justice Forum IV. Received Friday May 10, 2013.
Editorial– Can Brazil Buck the Latin American Trend? Opinion piece published in Al Jazeera International, 10 May, 2013.
Presentation– FOI and Democracy – From Brazil and Beyond in 14 Minutes. Presentation given at a symposium on freedom of information held by Columbia university at the Associação Comercial do Rio de Janeiro, 19 march, 2013.
Presentation– FGV Audit of Brazil’s FOI Law. Presentation given on Prospective audit of Brazilian FOI law to be carried out by FGV in 2013-14 (News release)
Interview– Lei de Acesso precisa de regulamentação em 92% dos municípios brasileiros. Contas Abertas, “FOI Law Lacks Regulation in 92% of Brazilian Municipalities”, 18 March, 2013.
Interview– Nove Tribunais de Justiça resistem à divulgação de salários de magistrados, Zero Hora, “Nine Courts Resist Disclosing Salaries on the Internet”, 12 March, 2013.
Editorial– Brazil: Nanny Nation. Opinion piece published in Al Jazeera International, 23 February, 2013.
Interview– Análise: Alcance da legislação no país tem amplitude incomum | PDF |. Analysis on FOI Delays commissioned by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper, 22 January, 2013. English Translation
Editorial– Tax Transparency in Brazil Legislation. Opinion piece published in Al Jazeera International, 25 December, 2012.
Interview– “Brazil: An end to dirty politics as usual?”. Article by Lucy Jordan, for the Global Post, 4 December, 2012.
Presentation– “Horizontes geopolíticos de la transparencia: indicadores democráticos”. Presentation at Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF), Mexico City, 22-23 November, 2012.
Presentation– “Freedom of Information in Latin America: Windows into Government or Window Dressing?”. Video Presentation at Australian National University, Canberra, 14 November, 2012.
Presentations and Papers– 2nd National Information Law Conference, Solicitor General of Australia – Two Papers and Three Presentations
Canberra, Australia 14-16 November, 2012
The following papers and presentations are available for download (link above):
-Paper: “A Panorama of Freedom of Information in Latin America”,
-Working Paper: “Freedom of Information and the Environment – Cases from Latin America”, and
-Presentation (slides): “FOI and the Public Interest in Latin America.”
Working Paper– Divergências nas estratégias de regulamentação do financiamento político: o caso da transparência pública, co-authored with Fabiano Angélico and presented at ANPOCS (Brazilian Social Sciences) Conference, Águas de Lindóia, 21-25 October, 2012.
Interview– “Do Brazil’s Internet Laws Censor the Public or Protect It?”. Question and Answer with the Latin American Advisor – Inter-American Dialogue, 16 October, 2012.
Editorial– A rupture with Brazil’s culture of cordiality. Editorial for Al Jazeera International, 22 September, 2012.
Editorial– Brazil’s Trial of the Century. Editorial for Al Jazeera International, 16 August, 2012.
Editorial– Brazil’s Open Government Shock Treatment. Feature Essay for Personal Democracy Plus and Tech President, 27 June, 2012.
Interview– “How Well do Freedom of Information Laws Boost Openness?”. Question and Answer with the Latin American Advisor – Inter-American Dialogue, 24 June, 2012.
EditorialBrazil’s Green Ambitions. Editorial for Al Jazeera International, 19 June, 2012.
Interview– Lei de Acesso a Informação Pública [pdf]. Interviewed and featured in Zero Hora, one of Southern Brazil’s principal newspapers, 5 June, 2012.
Editorial– Transparência: o Brasil vai corresponder às expectativas? Written with Fabiano Angélico for Valor Econômico “Transparency: will Brazil meet expectations?”, 5 June, 2012.
Interviewed– Especialista se diz impressionado com adesão à Lei de Acesso à Informação Interview published in one of Southern Brazil’s leading newspapers, Zero Hora, 30 May, 2012.
TV interview– Show Rede Minas “Rede Mídia”, Interview about Brazil’s new freedom of information law, TV Minas, 23 May, 2012.
TV interview-“Lei de Acesso a Informação Pública” Interviewed for news item by Bandeirantes News (national) — featured at approximately minute 9:01-9:35, 16 May, 2012.
Quoted– “Brazil Freedom of Information Law Passed” (Huffington Post) Interview for article by Juliana Barbosa of the Associated Press, 16 May, 2012.
Interview– “Cetisismo em Relação à Lei de Acesso no Brasil” Entire interview published in the newspaper O Globo, 16 May, 2012.
Interview– “A Entrada em vigor da Lei de Acesso a Informação” Television news interview for the inauguration of Brazil’s access to information law, 15 May, 2012.
Editorial– “Brazil’s Great Opening?” Editorial commissioned by Al Jazeera International, 23 April, 2012.
Interview– “Gastos públicos no Brasil deverão ser disponibilizadas a partir de maio” Interviewed for article for article published in the Estado de Minas, 16 April, 2012.
TV Interview– Mundo Político: Lei de acesso a informação Television interview with TV Assembleia Minas Gerais on Brazil’s freedom of information law, 9 April, 2012.
Report– “Parliamentary Power to the People: Analyzing Online and Offline Strategies in Latin America” Report commissioned by the Open Society Institute Latin America Program and released, March, 2012.
Article– published in, Journal of Democracy, 2011, Please write me for a copy.