Controle Social da Política de Assistência Social em contexto de austeridade fiscal: a atuação do Conselho Municipal de UnaíMG, no período de 2016 a 2022

Abstract

In recent decades the Social Assistance policy has gained the status of public policy inscribed in the Federal Constitution of 1988. Approved in 1993, the Organic Law of Social Assistance (LOAS) establishes instruments of planning, management, financing and social control at all levels of government: national, federal, state and municipal district. In this premise, the Social Assistance councils emerge as a fundamental component for the implementation of the Social Assistance policy, playing an essential role in the supervision, monitoring and follow-up of the actions aimed at public policy. This research aimed to understand the performance of the municipal council of Social Assistance of Unaí-MG, in the context of the crisis of democracy and fiscal austerity measures, imposed by the federal government, analyzing its contributions and challenges to the guarantee of the rights of the population. In the period analyzed, which extended from 2016 to 2022, it stood out as one of the most challenging moments for Brazilian democracy, characterized by severe cuts in the financing of public policies due to the enactment of PEC 95. The methodological path was qualitative, with the mobilization of literature review, in addition to the use of secondary and primary data. Primary data were collected from a sample of eight (08) semi-structured interviews with representatives of all segments that make up the council. This study concluded that, during the period under analysis, the Municipal Council of Unaí-MG complied with the attributions of supervision, monitoring and evaluation of Social Assistance; The strong performance of the council was essential to rebuild the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) at the municipal level, at a time marked by the dismantling of these social policies. The constitution and functioning of the council met the requirements of the LOAS and national regulations. The research showed a period (2014/2020) of great articulation, strength and resistance of the CMAS, with emphasis on the segment of civil society, especially the workers in the area. Also noteworthy is a change from 2020, when the board lost some of its vitality due to the lack of engagement of the segment of Social Assistance workers in management transitions. This underscored the fragility of the board's performance in other years. A general perception is that strength and resistance were in the "hands" of the segment of workers in the area. These evidences and results can not only serve as indicators for the Social Assistance Council of Unaí-MG itself, think about strengthening mechanisms, strategies for changes in the processes of democratic management, but also serve as a parameter and "mirror" of resistance for other Social Assistance councils.