Implementation of a System for Collecting and Analyzing Public and Open Access Information from Brazilian Federal Legislative Houses

Abstract

The overspread of corruption in today’s world is considered one of the major global problems, one that has affected almost every country in the world, developed or underdeveloped, throughout history. The specific case of institutionalized corruption, normally associated with the political structure of a country, is particularly heinous because it can be very difficult to expose and fight. In the case of Brazil, in recent years, major corruption scandals have arisen and completely shaken the national political environment. For centuries society was left defenseless in the face of such problems; however, supported by recent legislation on government compliance and transparency, the use of Data Mining and Data Analytics can offer important tools for society in the combat of these old and condemned practices of corruption. This article presents the implementation of an information retrieval system using Web Data Mining techniques, to collect information of public interest from politicians and political processes in Brazil, using public and open access information from the Brazilian federal legislative houses.