Brazil weakens law aimed at holding government to account
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-transparency/brazil-decree-weakens-law-aimed-at-holding-government-to-account-idUSKCN1PI2N8
Brazil’s new far-right government on Thursday gave hundreds more public servants the power to keep official records from the public for decades by labeling them “secret” and “ultra-secret.”
“You need to have a balance between security and transparency,” Mourao told reporters after the decree was published. “This just reduces bureaucracy when you classify secret documents.”
“This decree is a step backward with respect to transparency, access to information and social control, and this decree simply must be revoked,” said Gil Castello Branco, head of government transparency group Contas Abertas.
The move modifies Brazil’s 2011 Access to Information Law, passed to guarantee access to local, state and federal government records in the name of strengthening democracy.
The law created exceptions to protect highly sensitive materials, including “ultra-secret” information, which is withheld from the public for 25 years. Previously, the designation could only be made by the president, vice president, cabinet-level officials, military commanders and heads of permanent diplomatic and consular missions abroad.
The new decree allows politically appointed civil servants, agency heads and top executives at public companies to make that designation. The decree also vastly expanded the circle of officials who can make the “secret” classification, which seals records for 15 years.
I hate Bolsonaro more than Trump
And absolutely nobody was surprised.
but i thought bolsonaro was gonna increase transparency and civil rights?
only for the opposition
lol no he has never ever said that
I'm sure his supporters have. Right-wingers will make up all sorts of bullshit to justify themselves these days.
Bolsonaro is what Trump could be if our institutions weren't held up against him. He's a grave warning sign for how easily a democracy can fall and something us Americans should watch closely. Especially since it's happening in real-time and not in a textbook.
I'm fully expecting the next major war to happen in South America, and I expect Brazil and Venezuela to be key players in it.
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