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2009 Assessment

Brazil: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Brazil: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	100
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	83
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	100
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	88

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments: Although there are at least 500,000 CSOs (possibly as many as 750,000) in Brazil, a very small number of them focus on governance and anti-corruption.

References: IN LAW 1 - Federal Constitution, Art. 5, items 17-18 guarantee freedom of association, barring only association for illicit purposes ([ LINK ])

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments: It might be worth mentioning also that there are some legal constraints on CSOs in terms of how they can receive funding, if they want to remain tax-exempt organizations.

References: Law 9790/1999 - There are no defined funding conditions.

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments: The first law is the key regulation among a vast body of legislation governing civil society organizations. Although not all CSOs are required to submit to its rules, in order to receive tax deductible donations or funding through the government, it makes sense to follow these rules.

Among the many rules in this law that would lead to funding disclosure, the law requires that any project above BRL 600, 000 (US$338,600) requires an audit, creates a fiscal board in all CSOs that sign on, requires the CSO to publish its financial statements, and requires all of the CSO's financial statements to be publicly available through the Justice Ministry.

In sum, although there is no rigorous rule that forces all CSOs to disclose their funding sources, the legislation strongly encourages such disclosure if the CSOs are to obtain funding and tax benefits. Although there is no law that makes the funds of every CSO publicly accessible, political parties had to do so since the promulgation of the second law that makes public the reports about the public financing of political campaigns.

References: IN LAW 1 - Law 9.790/99 ([ LINK ]) and law 11.300/06 ([ LINK ]).

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: IN PRACTICE - Art. 5, item 18 of 1988 Constitution expressly states that there is no need to get authorization for creating an association, and forbids state interference on associations ([ LINK ]).

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: Non-governmental organizations are systematically invited to give their opinions. Many of them belong to government-sponsored councils and similar organizations that are aimed at monitoring public policies, and they are frequent sources for the press. In despite of their activity in political councils, or at the legislative and executive levels, they rarely engage in actual policymaking.

References: IN PRACTICE: Mainly Folha de S. Paulo (www.folha.uol.com.br) and O Estado de S. Paulo (www.estado.com.br).

"Sociedade Civil não nasceu ontem" ("Civil society 'wasn't born' yesterday"). Written by journalist Roberto Almeida (O Estado de S.Paulo, Feb, 19th, 2009, [ LINK ]); the article mentions 3 CSOs: Transparencia Brasil, Voto Consciente and Amarribo

"Cabe à sociedade cobrar transparência" ("Civil Society must demand transparency"). Journalist Fernanda Brigatti (O Estado, Mar, 23rd, 2009: [ LINK ]) interviews Mauri Ricciotti, a prosecutor (Public Ministry) and professor

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: IN PRACTICE: Mainly Folha de S. Paulo (www.folha.uol.com.br) and O Estado de S. Paulo (www.estado.com.br).

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: IN PRACTICE - Media -See all kinds of media. Mainly Folha de S. Paulo (www.folha.uol.com.br) and O Estado de S. Paulo (www.estado.com.br).

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: IN PRACTICE - Media -See all kinds of media. Mainly Folha de S. Paulo (www.folha.uol.com.br) and O Estado de S. Paulo (www.estado.com.br).

Peer Review Comments: Last year, at least one case was recorded. In October, Fábio Oliva, a journalist and society activist working on corruption issues was assaulted by Fabrício Viana, a former secretary of the Treasury from Januária´s (Minas Gerais State) city hall . He had been denounced by Oliva for fraud in a bidding process. Oliva is a witness against him in several prosecutions and is a founder of a non-governmental organization (NGO) working against corruption in Januária's city. The NGO's work has resulted in the imprisonment and the removal of several mayors. [ LINK ].

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: IN PRACTICE - Media -See all kinds of media. Mainly Folha de S. Paulo (www.folha.uol.com.br) and O Estado de S. Paulo (www.estado.com.br).

We couldn'f find any case in Brazil, as we reviewed relevant media coverage.

Besides, the Committee to Protect Journalists mentions no killings of Brazilian journalists in 2008: [ LINK ]. Journalists are a significant portion of anti-corruption activists.

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: IN LAW 1 - Federal Constitution, Art. 5, item 17 guarantees freedom of association, barring only association for illicit purposes ([ LINK ])

Decree-Law 5452/1943, Art. 511 says that association in trade unions is allowed ([ LINK ])

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: Since their power has been reduced, trade unions became less elevant both politically and in regard to labor matters. As for forming new trade unions, the major obstacles are pre-existing unions. This is a relevant issue because accredited trade unions are mainly financed by compulsory discounts that are taken from workers' wages.

References: IN PRACTICE - Media - "Sindicalização cai pela metade depois da década de 80" ("Unionization falls to half after the 80's") ([ LINK ] Folha Online, May, 12th, 2008)

Peer Review Comments: There are no such barriers to organizing trade unions.