The Most (and Least) Transparent Brazilian States and Capitals in Pandemic Spending

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In any emergency situation, whether natural or public health, international academic literature signals a greater likelihood of increased embezzlement practices in public accounts, particularly in countries with problematic anti-corruption records.

In the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, where methods to control public spending were relaxed, the scenario would be no different. In Brazil, the law that established the state of public calamity, authorizing the release of funds above fiscal targets, also established exceptional rules for contracting, with waivers of bids and shortened auction procedures.

To encourage civil society oversight of these negotiations, the NGO Transparency International is preparing a ranking of transparency in public accounts during the fight against Covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic, a team has been assessing whether the 26 state governments and the Federal District, in addition to the 26 city halls in Brazilian capital cities, are ensuring full, swift and easy access to data on emergency contracts.

On Monday, June 29th, the organization released the second version of its ranking, with data collected between June 15th and 18th. Of all the states, only Espírito Santo managed to reach the highest score (100). Among state capitals, João Pessoa, capital of Paraíba, was the only one that achieved the highest score.

Roraima, which scored only 43 points, as well as its capital Porto Velho, with 39.2 points, ranked last.

“Since we started this inspection, we have realized the impact it can have on society. That’s why we decided to release a step-by-step guide on how to improve transparency, to encourage citizens to also inspect municipalities we are not considering in the ranking,” says Guilherme France, research coordinator for Transparency International Brazil.

However, France points out that the fact that states and capitals are better assessed does not imply that there will be no reports of corruption – Santa Catarina, for instance, is rated as excellent, but there is already an ongoing investigation into an overpriced purchase of ventilators that involves Governor Carlos Moisés.

Methodology

Transparency International assumes that the public calamity law, which allows the relaxation of purchasing controls, determined the mandatory establishment of a specific transparency website for the pandemic.

Thus, every transaction must include the name of the contractor, the number of its registration with the Treasury, the contract term, the amount and the respective contracting or acquisition procedure. This applies to the federal government, states and municipalities.

In addition to the legal requirements, the ranking assessed several performance indicators in the 53 entities (26 states + Federal District + 26 capitals), such as available data, data format and accessibility.

In each location, data on emergency contracting was searched in the emergency contracting website (if available); official government website; transparency website; purchasing website; open data website (if available); covid-19 website (if available); and social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

The state transparency ranking in spending during the covid-19 pandemic is below:

Espírito Santo 100.00 Optimal
Ceará 98.73 Optimal
Federal District 98.73 Optimal
Rondônia 96,20 Optimal
Goiás 94.94 Optimal
Minas Gerais 94.94 Optimal
Pernambuco 93.67 Optimal
Amapá 89,87 Optimal
Alagoas 88.61 Optimal
Paraná 88.61 Optimal
Maranhão 86,08 Optimal
Amazonas 84.81 Optimal
São Paulo 84.81 Optimal
Rio Grande do Sul 84.81 Optimal
Santa Catarina 82,28 Optimal
Pará 79.75 Good
Tocantins 79.75 Good
Rio Grande do Norte 77.22 Good
Mato Grosso do Sul 73,42 Good
Mato Grosso 71.52 Good
Piauí 68,35 Good
Paraíba 65.82 Good
Sergipe 65.82 Good
Acre 63.29 Good
Rio de Janeiro 62.03 Good
Bahia 45.57 Fair
Roraima 43,04 Fair

Source: Transparency International