Water Crisis in São Paulo from the Perspective of Governmental Organizations: Hydrological Crisis or of Information?

Abstract

The Internet makes it possible for the social organizations the leading role in the achievement of the right to information in order to encourage the citizen participation in public debate on the most diverse issues, among which is the hydric. This study analyzes the information provided by two government organizations who are responsible for the water management: a national and another of the State of São Paulo. It is discussed if their communicative practices meet the legal requirements of the right to information in the scheduling process and framework of the water crisis. The study is descriptive and analytical, qualitative, and have a bibliographical and documental basis. The sample is not probabilistic for typicality and accessibility, referring to the 52 news published in 2014, collected from the keywords "Cantareira crisis" and "water crisis". Four categories have been analyzed for understanding the predominant frameworks done by the two governmental organizations: sources, conflicts, responsibility and solutions. Finally, the results are related to the assumptions of the right to information. It was concluded that the state organization frames the crisis as a “under control” situation, while the national organization seeks to technically explain the mechanisms for its confrontation. Overall, the two organizations published little, given the relevance of the problem, and reported predominantly from institutional interests rather than the public interest. Finally, it can be seen that the role of environmental organizations should be expanded when it comes to implementing the right to environmental information.