The book investigates why a country facing issues that needed to be tackled nationwide chose to decentralize when it moved from authoritarianism to democracy. It discusses the events of the Brazilian constituent assembly and investigates the results of decentralization at the subnational sphere. The results suggest that there was a lack of social consensus on what was to be achieved by decentralization. They suggest that political and economic factors influence the outcomes of decentralization, thus exposing the limits of decentralization on policy results
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This article analyses the process of the State's modernization in Brazil, associating it with the concept of the State's capacity, in particular the professionalization of the federal bureaucracy in charge of conceiving and implementing public policies. The article concludes that, despite multiple mechanisms having been used by different governments and political regimes to recruit their bureaucracies, the federal Executive has always been capable of generating the capacity to implement the policies of its choice. Over the past two decades, however, the federal Executive has preferred to recruit its bureaucracy primarily through public sector entrance examinations. As result, Brazil today has a consolidated bureaucracy that is involved in overseeing rules, procedures and fiscal controls, but that is still incomplete in some areas of public policy. These new features of the federal bureaucracy suggest that certain characteristics of the Weberian bureaucracy have indeed been created but others are still awaiting institutionalization, which therefore affects the capacity of the State in implementing certain policies. ; El artículo analiza el proceso de modernización del Estado brasileño y su vinculación con el concepto de la capacidad del Estado, especialmente la profesionalización de la burocracia federal dedicada a la formulación e implementación de políticas públicas. El artículo concluye que a pesar de la aparición de múltiples mecanismos utilizados por los diferentes gobiernos y regímenes políticos para la contratación de su burocracia, el Ejecutivo federal siempre ha sido capaz de generar capacidades para aplicar sus políticas preferidas. Sin embargo, en las dos últimas décadas el Ejecutivo federal comenzó a reclutar a su burocracia principalmente a través de concursos públicos. Existe hoy una burocracia consolidada sobre las normas y procedimientos de control y el control fiscal, pero todavía incompleta en algunos ámbitos de la política pública. Estas nuevas características del sistema burocrático federal indican que algunas de las dimensiones de una burocracia weberiana se construyeron mientras que otras esperan institucionalización, lo que afecta a la capacidad del Estado en ciertas políticas. ; O artigo analisa o processo de modernização do Estado brasileiro associando-o ao conceito de capacidade do Estado, em especial, a profissionalização da burocracia federal que atua na formulação e implementação de políticas públicas. O artigo conclui que, a despeito da ocorrência de múltiplos mecanismos utilizados pelos diferentes governos e regimes políticos para o recrutamento da sua burocracia, o Executivo federal sempre foi capaz de gerar capacidade para implementar suas políticas preferenciais. Nas duas últimas décadas, contudo, o Executivo federal passou a recrutar sua burocracia majoritariamente por meio de concursos públicos, havendo hoje uma burocracia consolidada atuando no controle de regras e procedimentos e no controle fiscal, mas ainda incompleta em algumas áreas de políticas públicas. Essas novas características do sistema burocrático federal indicam que algumas das dimensões de uma burocracia weberiana foram construídas enquanto outras aguardam institucionalização, afetando, portanto, a capacidade do Estado em determinadas políticas.
The study analyses bureaucratic capacity in Brazil's and Argentina's federal governments by applying the concept of state capacity. To capture the capacity civil servants the study investigated dimensions such as professionalization, qualification, promotion rules, and recruitment mechanisms for entering the civil service. The study shows that although both countries experienced the same trajectory in the early years of the construction of their bureaucratic systems and that access to civil service combined patronage and meritocratic patterns in the early 2000s, however, Brazilian political elites implemented a constitutional mandate determining that access to civil service was conditioned to competitive exams, making the system closer to Weber's rational-legal authority type. Argentina, in contrast, kept the selection of their civil servants based on personal and political ties. This does not mean that Argentina's bureaucracy lacks quality but they do not fulfill some of Weber's requirements such as stability and selection more based on merit rather than patronage. The study argues this difference is explained by different redemocratization agendas.
The article analyses the political and the institutional features of Brazilian metropolitan regions in relation to (1) the influence of regime change, (2) the changes in the federal system and (3) the dynamics of intergovernmental relations. It argues that the institutionalisation of metropolitan regions and the creation of agencies for their management during the military regime became associated with the regime's major negative features hence influencing future choices and leaving metropolitan governance in a political, institutional, financial and administrative vacuum. (InWent/GIGA)
Considers the reasons why Brazil has faced challenges in maintaining a secure federal democracy that is able to beat back periods of authoritarianism, to ameliorate social & regional inequality & destitution, & to reconcile social democracy with the limitations of the global economy. The chief dilemmas Brazil deals with today are the result not of weaknesses in its Constitution but rather of governmental problems in shifting policy priorities & addressing economic issues not anticipated by the constitutional framers. There is a discrepancy between the matters explicitly addressed in the Constitution & political-economic exigencies, & the latter continue to trump the former. Tables. K. Coddon
