Access to public information: study of cases of Brazil, Spain and Portugal

Abstract

Discusses the rules on access to public information in Brazil, Spain and Portugal, as well as the availability that citizens have to consult this information through the municipal websites. For it all municipalities were grouped into six population ranges from 1.001 to 5.000 the smallest and greater than 100.000 the biggest; thirty municipalities were randomly selected for each population band. Later, were visited their websites to know the diffusion that is carried out of minutes of the municipal plenary session, edicts and decrees, municipal regulation (ordinances, regulations), budgets or regulation pending. We conclude that Brazil, Spain and Portugal require a unified law on access to public information and that portuguese municipalities provide more administrative and legislative information to their citizens that Brazilian and Spanish.