Overall, Brazil has good levels of revenue and expenditure transparency, driven by two main factors: its legislation for disclosure of public data on government web pages, and the National Oil Company's participation in the stock exchange. In fact, Brazil is the highest-ranking country in the Revenue Watch Index, above Norway and Chile. Although Brazil has not committed to implementing or supporting the Extractive Industries transparency Initiative (EITI), its state-owned oil company has had some participation in the international EITI process since 2005.

President Dilma Rouseff is a member of the PT (Worker's Party), the party of former President Luiz Inacio "Lula" Da Silva, with whom she worked closely during his administration. In 1990 Rouseff was appointed Secretary of Energy and in 2002 Lula Da Silva chose her as Minister of Energy. During her management of the ministry, she was adamant on respecting contracts made by the previous administration, pushed for policies to ensure that state-owned oil company Petrobras' platforms had a minimum level of local content and for the "Luz para Todos" program to universalize access to electricity.

Rousseff has said her administration will continue to implement Lula's policies to foster economic growth, as well as his popular social programs. The Lula administration enacted fiscal policies designed to stabilize the economy and improve welfare. Lula renegotiated Brazil's foreign debt during his first term and reformed the pension system. He also implemented a program called "Bolsa Familia" which gives cash directly to families in extreme poverty.

Brazil has taken a leadership role in the formation of the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative launched in 2011 to secure concrete commitments from governments on transparency, anti-corruption and citizen engagement activities. In addition to acting as co-chair of the effort with the United States, Brazil has issued an open government plan that includes an overhaul of its information access programs, new open data initiatives and commitments to greater transparency in budgeting, public procurement and corporate activity.

In recent years, Brazilian civil society has developed its capacity to promote private sector transparency. The organization iBase has reached agreements with over 50 private companies from different economic sectors to obtain key financial information and other social indicators. Organizations use this information for "Social Balance" reports, which present financial performance indicators and information about companies' social projects and worker benefits, among other issues.

Brazil was ranked first in the 2010 Revenue Watch Index, based on the public availability of information on reserves, production volumes, prices, exports, investments and companies operating in the country. Petrobras is publicly listed in international stock exchanges, follows internationally-recognized accounting standards and performs audits covering all its subsidiaries.

Revenue Transparency

Petrobras' high level of transparency is due in part to the fact that it trades some of its stock on the New York and Sao Paulo stock exchanges, and must therefore periodically submit financial statements and production reports to those countries' securities and exchange commissions.

Financial data is also available on the Petrobras website, where citizens can find and download information about payments to the government, including the main taxes, royalties and special contributions.

Brazil's government has not committed to implementing or supporting EITI, but Petrobras became a member of the EITI International Advisory Group in 2005. The company has sat on the EITI International Board since 2006, alternating its position with Mexico's state-owned oil company PEMEX. As a part of Petrobras's commitment to EITI, it has also gone beyond the basic requirements in its disclosures about payments made to governments abroad.

Expenditure Transparency

According to the 2010 Open Budget Index, Brazil "provides the public with substantial information on the central government's budget and financial activities during the course of the budget year." The index ranks Brazil ninth on budget transparency. The country has shown some success publishing information about budget proposals, year-end reports and performance reports.

The State Comptroller's Office is in charge of maintaining an online "transparency portal." This site has been available to the public since 2004 and provides information about revenues transferred by the federal government to the states, to municipalities and to citizens. It also discloses data about expenditures made by the federal government in purchases and service contracts to build public projects.

Regulatory Framework for Pre-sal

The discovery of massive oil reserves off the coast of Espiritu Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, in the area known as the Pre-sal, has fueled debate about revenue management and the best ways to maximize economic development benefits.

The Pre-sal is an 800-kilometer-long area made up of several different oil blocks, including El Tupi and Júpiter, located 300 kilometers offshore, below 3,000 meters of water and a layer of salt 2,000 meters thick. Oil reserves in this area are estimated to be between 50 and 80 billion barrels.

On 22 August, 2009 the executive branch submitted a proposed new regulatory framework for national oil reserves, including a shift toward Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), an increase in the ownership stake for Petrobras, and the creation of a social fund based on oil revenues. After amendments by the senate in mid-2010, the bill faces a new round of debate at a date not yet determined.

These bills would give the state greater control over the Pre-sal area, but they lack transparency measures in areas such as decision-making on joint venture partners for Petrobras, or the management of the social fund.

While a first draft bill proposed a revenue distribution plan that favored producer states (Rio de Janeiro and Espíritu Santo), the senate modified the bill in mid-2010 to establish equal distribution. The bills were presented again in late 2010, with amendments that would expand government control of the oil sector and change production-sharing and revenue distribution rules. Proposals for regional distribution continue to spur debate over the appropriate share to be received by producing states. The proposals for production sharing, on the other hand, were expected to meet with less resistance. Once passed, the production-sharing rules will enable Brazil to step up development in the Pre-sal region.

In May of 2011, Petrobras exported its first shipment of Pre-sal oil produced to Chile's state owned oil company, ENAP. The one million barrels came from the field called "Lula," formerly known as "El Tupi" and were delivered to the Chilean cities of Quintero and San Vicente.

Freedom of Information

Brazil's Federal Constitution establishes transparency as one of the basic principles of public administration. This was further mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Law in 2000 and its regulatory framework Decree N° 1.731, which sets criteria and guidelines to improve the transparency of public management as well as the quality of the fiscal information to be disclosed.

Later, regulations such as Decree Nº5482, enacted in June 2005, and Ministerial Decree Nº 140, enacted in March 2006, made it mandatory for all government ministries and other agencies to publish relevant and timely information on their web pages. These regulations stand to be improved upon in 2011 and 2012 as Brazil begins to implement its commitments to the Open Government Partnership.