Estado e burocracia: limites de aplicação da Lei de Acesso a Informações no Brasil

Welcomed as a result of a complex process of evolution of the Brazilian legal and institutional framework, the Federal Law 12.527, known as the Right to Information Law, enacted on November 18, 2011 and regulated in the federal Executive Branch by Decree 7724 of May 16, 2012, meets the assumption of the right to information secured by the Constitution of 1988. However, historically constructed values and practices may bring major obstacles and resistance to its implementation. Features of the legal text itself, observed when one compares it with its international counterparts, also signal potential complicating factors. This article points to limits that the Right to Information Law may face, in terms of its consolidation, particularly those coming from Brazil’s political and institutional culture, which become clearer by comparing some of its characteristics with those of other countries that have similar laws. Key words: political culture, right to information, democracy.