Then fix the documentation.  This behavior directly contradicts the documentation of the exec() function.  The question is not what scope the comprehension runs in, it's what scope the script runs in.  See my third example.  A comprehension in the f() function has no problem seeing local variables defined in that function.  If the script were running into the same scope as that function, then comprehensions inside the script would also see those variables.  They don't, clearly demonstrating that the script does *not* run in the same scope, and contradicting the documentation.