Políticas públicas e gestão democrática : a importância do controle social

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis, in the form of a monograph, reflects on the evolution and challenges of public policies and democratic governance in Brazil, highlighting the relevance of social control as a mechanism for promoting social rights and strengthening citizenship. This study is justified by the need to understand how practices of social control and public participation contribute to improving public policies that address social demands. This premise underscores the importance of understanding the historical process and the elements that have shaped democratic governance and the development of public policies in the country across different governmental contexts, with constant democratic challenges, often marked by the erosion of rights and rising social inequalities. The main objective is to analyze the trajectory of public policies in Brazil and democratic governance, considering the importance of democratic social control in managing these public policies. For this purpose, a theoretical research approach was adopted, with a predominantly qualitative analysis through an exploratory lens (Gil, 2008). Regarding the technical and instrumental procedures used as sources and bases for secondary data analysis, bibliographic and documentary research were employed. The analytical theoretical foundation is based on critical social theory, guided by the Historical-Dialectical Materialism method. Through a comprehensive historical study covering the colonial period up to the most recent democratic governments, the results of the first chapter reveal that, throughout Brazilian history, public policies were often treated as benevolent actions until they achieved the status of rights and state obligations, while social participation in policy development was not always valued. In the second chapter, an in-depth examination of theoretical and conceptual approaches to social control revealed how the relationship between the State and society was constructed through various public management models, with shifts between centralization of power and phases of decentralization and social participation. Key historical milestones are identified, such as the enactment of the 1988 Constitution, which contributed to the consolidation of social rights and social control. The concept of social control in a democratic sense and the challenges faced by civil society in ensuring its effective implementation in public management were also identified. Considering Social Assistance Policy as an example, with a focus on the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS), chapter three highlighted the instruments of social control, focusing on the councils within this policy, which monitor (supervise) its implementation, striving for its improvement and overseeing public budgeting and the legality of administrative actions. It concludes that public participation and social control are indispensable elements for a more inclusive, equitable, transparent, respectful, and common good-oriented democratic governance. Furthermore, it emphasizes that the realization of social rights requires the consolidation of control practices involving civil society, in an organized and active manner, in decision-making processes alongside government bodies, as well as the presence of social control in overseeing public budgeting and administrative actions, especially in contexts marked by corruption, mismanagement, authoritarianism, and other challenges, which translate into attacks and setbacks to this democratic pathway.