Transparency or Appearance? The Legislative Power of Seridó Potiguar in the Light of the Access to Information Law
Public Transparency; Access to Information Law; Municipal Legislative Power.
Public transparency is one of the fundamental pillars of democratic governance and accountability in the public sector. However, the implementation of Law No 12.527/2011, known as the Access to Information Law (LAI), still faces significant limitations within the scope of municipal legislative bodies, particularly in contexts with low institutional capacity. In this regard, this research aims to investigate the extent to which municipal chambers in the Seridó region of Rio Grande do Norte ensure the effectiveness of the public's right to access information, considering legal requirements and societal perceptions. The general objective of the study is to measure the level of active and passive transparency of the municipal chambers in the Seridó region, integrating the normative and perceptual dimensions of the phenomenon. Methodologically, it adopts a mixed approach of applied research, combining document analysis based on the Legislative Portal Transparency Index (ITPL) with a survey conducted via an online questionnaire applied to citizens in the region. It is expected that data triangulation will help identify institutional and cultural factors influencing local legislative transparency and provide practical insights for strengthening public governance and the culture of access to information.