Transparency for an Upright State
Vinícius Marques de Carvalho, Minister for the Comptroller General of the Union. This article was originally published in the newspaper O Globo, in March 2023, and reproduced in issue 80 of the WBO Newsletter, published on August 16, 2023. Fill in the form at the bottom of the text to access and subscribe to the WBO weekly newsletter in English.
In recent months, the performance of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) in promoting transparency has gained prominence due to a directive from President Lula. On the first day of his government, the CGU was tasked with reviewing the secrecy improperly imposed on public documents. We analyzed thousands of rejected requests for access to information and identified more than 200 cases of the denial of information based on weak arguments.
As a result, the CGU prepared formulations to guide compliance with the Access to Information Law and ordered the review of hundreds of cases. Once completed, from now on, disciplinary proceedings against members of the military serving in the government are open to public access— just as civil servant cases are. Another guideline establishes that the mention of “personal information” cannot be used as a generic justification for denial, since access to information and protection of personal data can be reconciled.
The work carried out highlights the importance of transparency for a democracy. Around the world, distrust of institutions is being exploited for anti-democratic purposes, often through disinformation. Increasing trust in institutions is a relevant measure to combat one of the main tactics for the erosion of democracy.
The positive impact on the quality of public policies is a contribution for transparency in a democracy. It facilitates social control over the efficiency and effectiveness of resource allocation and public service delivery. Well-formulated and executed public policies are an expectation of citizens and condition their confidence in democratic institutions.
The potential of transparency can be even greater with the incorporation of technological innovations that promote the publication of data in an inclusive way. In order to benefit public policies, transparency mechanisms must deliver understandable, relevant, and accessible information to stakeholders. The successful experience of the Transparency Portal can advance in the standardization of proactively published information and in the use of digital tools for the continuous improvement of public services. The resumption of the National Open Data Infrastructure Management Committee and the preparation of a new action plan for an open government are fundamental measures on this front.
Transparency is also key to promoting integrity by preventing and combating corruption. Effective transparency mechanisms, especially in the federal budget and public procurement, are associated with lower levels of corruption. This is because they allow the identification of illicit acts, discouraging them due to the risk of exposure and facilitating investigations. It is essential to expand the active disclosure of spending on social policies to other areas of the federal budget — such as tax waivers.
Thanks to transparency, society can become aware of mistakes in management, undue benefits, and decisions made without legitimate justification. It is transparency, many times, that catalyzes social mobilization for improvements in public policies. For all these reasons, guaranteeing broad access to public information and encouraging transparency must be an unavoidable commitment of a democratic, effective and upright State.
