O Governo Eletrônico e Aspectos Fiscais: A Experiência Brasileira

Information technology creates new alternatives for the State to accomplish itsfunctions and perform its role more efficiently. The possibilities created by newtechnology permit new channels to provide services (without necessarily substitutingthe traditional ways), closer relationships among different levels of government, strictercontrols in fiscal matters, the interchange of successful experiences, construction ofconsortiums, and work based on the concept of networks. The use of the informationtechnology in its various guises by the State is denominated e-government.E-government indicates capacity of the State in the provision of services anddemands and a certain degree of coordination and qualification and contributes tothe establishment of a new government model based on transparency, regulation andprofessional management. Furthermore, in the process of appropriating the benefitsof information technology and of rationalization of administrative functions, there isa trend toward restructuring government, as a consequence of new relationships inthe mass of government, between levels of government and between the State andcitizen. Last at least, e-government can be also a tool for the exercise of citizenship.This work will focus on the strengths and weakness of e-government in theBrazilian case. E-government in Brazil has been quite successful. This paper examinessome reasons why Brazil has achieved this position and the results that justified thisleading position. Bearing this in mind, in the second section, the institutionalelements that helped e-government in Brazil become a successful experience arepresented, along with the federative question. In the third section, the impacts on theState are brought up through some cases of horizontal and vertical coordination inthe intra and intergovernmental relationship. In the fourth section, the focus is thesuccessful experiences at the federal and state levels. The barriers and advantages tothe development of e-government are dealt with in the fifth section.