Entre o ideal e o real: um estudo de caso sobre a participação e o controle social no Conselho Municipal de Assistência Social de Varginha MG de 2018 a 2019

Abstract

Councils are important channels of democratization and promotion of participation and exercise of social control over public actions. From the distance between the ideal and the real, the need arises to understand the effective functioning of specific councils, in the case of this research, the object of study was the Municipal Council of Social Assistance (CMAS) of Varginha and its respective councilors. Thus, the general objective is to analyze how the process of participation and exercise of social control has been developed by the councillors who are part of the CMAS in the city of Varginha during the period of 2018 and 2019. For this purpose, a qualitative survey was conducted, defined as a case study that produced primary information through documental surveys, non-participating observation and the application of questionnaires. The most relevant results showed in relation to the profile that the mechanism is an elitized organ. It was also found that the institutional format of the council has presented itself as a mechanism for the implementation of participatory democracy at the local level. As for the understanding of councilors on issues related to theory and practice, the conclusions refer to the unpreparedness of some individuals in presenting their understanding of participation and social control, thus signaling that they are not properly trained to hold office. When the results on their functions are analyzed, it can be concluded that there is a lack of knowledge on the part of the councilors about PMAS, the area's budget proposal and the FMAS, which compromises participation and social control on the part of these individuals. Finally, in view of all the notes made it was possible to identify several difficulties and limitations that tend to hinder the development of participation and social control at the CMAS, such as: unpreparedness of some councillors to deal with issues related to the area in which they are acting, difficulty in instituting a process of "deliberation" that can overlap the "consultative" process, lack of training and access to information among others. In light of all this, the study revealed that the participation and social control exercised by the members of CMAS de Varginha is fragmented, limited and somewhat distant from the ideal. It is worth saying that this research is added to several other studies on institutional arrangements related to the issue of participatory democracy in the country. In short, the centralizing actions of the municipal administration combined with the lack of autonomy and commitment on the part of some councillors undermine an effective, democratic and participatory deliberative process