Investigating e-gov portals in Brazilian states: Much technology, little democracy

Abstract

This article investigates portals of state governments in Brazil in order to find out the steps taken by the e-gov to improve democracy through digital processes. The article is focused on portals in nine of the more economically developed states, plus the country's capital, Brasilia. The analytical model looks at, in one sense, the more technologically advanced features of the portals and how these websites make available information to citizens in a way to make their lives easier. In the other, and this is the most important point, the article deals with the features concerning accountability and popular participation in order to verify how the portals (and the governments under consideration) have proven to be a successful experiment towards the deepening of democracy in Brazil, and the realization of a new kind of society: a digital one. The theoretical framework emphasizes the categories of e-gov, accountability, and popular participation. The results are not positive, agreeing with the international literature, and are attributed to the authoritarian and conservative trajectory of the state in Brazil. It has also been pointed out that all these processes, taking into consideration the absorption of digital society's parameters as well the development of democracy, are still under construction in the Brazilian society.