Information society, accountability and delegational democracy: investigation in Brazilian government portals

• Autor(a) principal: Akutsu, Luiz
• Data de Publicação: 2002
• Outros Autores: Pinho, José Antonio Gomes de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Administração Pública
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/rap/article/view/6461
• topic: information; accountability; democracy.; informação; accountability; democracia.

This paper analyzes how the Internet, one of the basic tools of the new information society, has been used by public administrators to increase accountability and to build a more democratic society, considering the patrimonialism and delegational society current in Brazil. The paper presents case studies of 20 portals in the three government levels (federal, state/district, and municipal): of the federal government; of the Federal District; of the state governments of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Bahia, Santa Catarina, Pernambuco, and Ceará; and of the municipal governments of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Salvador, Florianópolis, Recife, and Fortaleza. The results indicate in most cases the absence of accountability and the consequent preservation of patrimonialism and delegational democracy in the Brazilian society. Nevertheless, a few scattered, though significant, results show that administrators are progressing toward more accountability and, therefore, the construction of a more democratic society, as foreseen by the information society theorists.