“Orçamento secreto” e a publicidade do orçamento: uma análise deste antagonismo a partir da doutrina orçamentária e do julgamento da ADPF 854

Abstract

In Brazil, the Budget is governed, among certain principles, by the principle of publicity of public administration acts, which is extremely important, along with the principle of transparency, due to its responsibility to provide disclosure and clarity to the Budget. Amidst this, when media reports address the existence of a "Secret Budget of the Government," questions arose about the possibility of its structuring within a system that is illuminated by a principle of publicity. And in a recent judgment of ADPF 854, it was deemed unconstitutional. The present research aimed to demonstrate the contours of publicity in Brazil's Budget and, thus, to understand whether the "Secret Budget" violates the principle of publicity and transparency. This present work demands exploratory research, through the combination of normative, documentary, and doctrinal sources. Thus, concerning normative sources, the primary focus was on reading and understanding the 1988 Federal Constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Law, and Law 12.527 of 2011. Regarding documentary analysis, the key points of votes and decisions present in the full text of the ADPF 854 ruling, which addresses the unconstitutionality of the "Secret Budget," were explored. Furthermore, in terms of doctrinal sources, a literature review was conducted about what has already been produced on the research subject. Especially, the most established doctrinal interpretations within the scope of budgetary law regarding the topic. Finally, deductive methodology was employed, starting from a general premise towards a specific conclusion, which constitutes a particular premise. Additionally, a qualitative method was used that points to a reality not only theoretical but also factual, primarily through documentary data. Firstly, the budgetary secrecy in a Democratic Rule of Law was analysed, a context in which one of its principles is the publicity of government accounts, to comprehend the balance of this exception amid the rule, within the budgetary scenario. Following that, a concrete case analysis was conducted, in this case, the judgment of ADPF 854, to understand the current stance of the court regarding the issue of budgetary publicity, and to bring greater clarity to this matter. At the end of the study, it was possible to understand that indeed the "Secret Budget" violates the principle of publicity and transparency, per the understanding expressed by the Supreme Federal Court. The Secret Budget did not encompass the principles of publicity and transparency, given that data about the allocation of funds, who requested them, and who benefited from them were not made available in a clear and accessible manner. Consequently, as the importance of publicity and transparency for oversight was dismantled, a deficit in overseeing these expenditures was observed. This research ultimately highlights publicity and transparency as crucial means to ensure expenditure control and oversight, emphasizing the need for the financial control system to reconsider its language and focus of analysis.