Brazil’s Justice Ministry upheld the confidentiality of intelligence papers using an argument employed by the government of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, according to reports by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
The 13 documents in question refer to police activities during the 2013 June protests, which began as demonstrations against rising public transport fares but quickly accommodated anti-corruption and anti-politics demands.
At the time, the documents were classified as “reserved,” making them confidential for up to five years, a period ending in 2018. Folha de S.Paulo requested access to the reports under the access to information law, but their pleas were rebuffed by the current government.
The Justice Ministry alleged that, as the information refers to intelligence activities, there is no deadline for it to be made publicly available. The argument is based on the law which established the Brazilian Intelligence System (Sisbin), created in 2019 by Jair Bolsonaro, and applies broader measures to protect government intelligence data.
Mr. Bolsonaro was widely criticized for his government’s excessive use of confidentiality seals. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, right after his inauguration on January 1, revoked hundreds of these secrecy decrees issued by Mr. Bolsonaro.
The General Comptroller’s Office demanded that the Justice Ministry release all unclassified documents pertaining to 2013 within one month.
According to Folha, the documents describe several actions of police interference and unauthorized infiltration in the riots.
On Wednesday, Lula signed a decree establishing new rules to strengthen Sisbin’s structure, implementing the Brazilian Intelligence Agency and four other types of governmental organs, for more efficiency in studying matters against the democratic state.
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