The National Policy on Social Participation in Brazil (2014): A Bibliographical Analysis of its Conception, Controversies, and Impacts on Public Policy Councils

UMA ANÁLISE BIBLIOGRÁFICA DE SUA CONCEPÇÃO, CONTROVÉRSIAS E IMPACTOS NOS CONSELHOS DE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS

Abstract

Abstract: This article presents a bibliographic analysis of the National Policy for Social Participation (PNPS), established by Decree No. 8,243/2014. The study addresses the design of the plan, the main political and legal controversies surrounding it, and its impacts on the dynamics of Brazilian participatory democracy, with a focus on Public Policy Councils, according to academic literature and the case study of the municipality of Major Izidoro, Alagoas. The core problem revolves around the following question: to what extent did the National Policy for Social Participation (2014) succeed, or fail, in strengthening and institutionalizing participatory democracy in Brazil, given the intense controversies and political-institutional challenges that marked its existence?. The hypothesis raised is that, despite intense controversies and subsequent discontinuity, the PNPS played a relevant role by framing and highlighting the debate on participatory democracy in Brazil, stimulating the creation of legal frameworks and localized experiences, whose legacy—though weakened—contributed to the long-term social participation agenda. Finally, the method adopted is a qualitative approach (Briceño-León, 2003) grounded in bibliographic (Corrêa, 2003) and documentary research (Sá-Silva, Almeida & Guindani, 2009). Thus, it is argued that the PNPS represented an attempt to deepen the institutionalization of social participation at the federal level, reverberating across other entities; however, it faced strong political resistance and was revoked in 2019, highlighting the inherent tensions between representative and participatory democracy in the country.