Dilma: Brazil took a decisive step with the Access to Information Law.
A law that comes into effect on May 16 allows any Brazilian citizen to consult documents produced by the public administration; the conference for an Open Government was attended by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
Agency Brazil - President Dilma Rousseff said today (17) that Brazil took a decisive step by approving the Access to Information Law which comes into force on May 16.
“This is one of the most advanced laws on active and passive transparency, adopting open data standards for the disclosure of information. Information must be made available by the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, and at all levels of government. All Brazilians will be able to consult documents produced by the public administration, which must be produced in simple language,” said the president during a speech at the opening of the 1st Annual High-Level Conference of the Open Government Partnership.
Dilma also defended the qualified management of public spending and transparency of information as a way to reduce corruption. "We also want to improve the quality of public spending, reduce expenses, and streamline processes."
"The proper use of public resources, efficiency, and the fight against corruption are two sides of the same coin that must go hand in hand," he added.
The president also called for transparency and regulation of the financial sector. "When there is no adequate monitoring and regulation, financial flows are susceptible to manipulation, harming the entire global economy and the social achievements of countries," she said. The open government partnership includes only governments and civil society organizations.
In front of representatives from more than 50 countries and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President Dilma Rousseff cited some of the mechanisms of the Brazilian government that allow citizens to monitor public spending via the internet, such as the Transparency Portal.
The 1st Annual High-Level Conference of the Open Government Partnership aims to achieve concrete progress on the commitments made by governments to ensure greater access to public information, increase civic participation, combat corruption, and leverage new technologies to make governments more transparent and effective.