Capacidades estatais no nível local: a gestão do Programa Bolsa família no município de Campo Belo/MG

Abstract

The objective of this work was to examine the state capacities mobilized in the implementation process of the Bolsa Família Program in Campo Belo/MG, a municipality in the southwest of Minas Gerais, between 2017 and 2020, based on the technicaladministrative, political dimensions relational and fiscal. It should be noted that the State's action, in a federative environment, comprises complex processes and uncertain results that demand explanations both about the effectiveness of the results of public policies and the promotion of access to social rights. It is believed that some of the answers about the failure or success of a public policy can be found through the understanding of state capacities. The Bolsa Família Program (BFP) assumed the centrality of Brazilian social policy, as an effective way to combat poverty and at the international level it has become one of the greatest references in conditional income transfer technology, due to the improvement of living conditions that it provides to more than 13.9 million Brazilian families. However, the Program implementation process still represents a major challenge for the State and society as it is subject to the different State capacities present at the local level. In order to understand the implementation process, a case study was carried out, through qualitative research with a descriptive approach. In relation to data collection, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and documental research were adopted. The analysis method used consisted of content analysis. Although the results are important for the evaluation of a public policy, it is emphasized that the main focus of this work was not the results, but the resources, processes, instruments and mechanisms as well as the interactions/relationships resulting from the processes that the State employs in its day-to-day activities to achieve its goals and objectives in terms of program management and operation. In short, based on empirical research, it was intended to use state capacities as a theoretical lens to appreciate the characteristics of the state apparatus structured by the municipality, in order to identify possible difficulties and potentialities that reduce or promote institutional strengthening, as well as verify the influences that state capacities exert in the implementation phase of the BFP. Although there are several state capacities, it was found that their dimensions are interdependent and complementary so that they act in an articulated way to achieve the goals and objectives of the BFP. While the technical-administrative and fiscal dimensions present efficiency and effectiveness as necessary conditions for the delivery of results, the political-relational dimension confers legitimacy and effectiveness on state action. It should be noted that the analysis of state capacities should not necessarily be carried out only in the implementation phase of a public policy. Debates in other phases of the cycle, for example in agenda-setting and formulation, open the way for interesting discussions on state capabilities. It is hoped that the results achieved can foster the debate on state capacities as well as optimize the implementation of the Bolsa Família Program in other municipalities of the same size or smaller.