Democratic governance in Brazil: Institutional framework and political context shaping the national councils of social policies

Most scholars regard participative forums, built up in Brazil and elsewhere, as important institutional devices to induce state democratisation as well as to improve democratic governance in the public sector. Nevertheless, the institutional framework, the political dynamics and the history of different policy areas can induce the forums to undertake other functions rather than favoring societal actors to take part in the forums' decision making process.

The paper analyses two national councils of social policies, in the health and social assistance areas, in Brazil. These councils are neo-corporatists intermediary organizations that favor improvements in democratic governance, as in fact societal actors take part in these forums' decision-making processes, although the degree of participation varies according to the area. Nevertheless, they also have other functions. The institutional framework and political dynamics of each of the two areas shape forums with diverse roles. The National Council of Health works as a political arena, whose major task is the defense of the Single National Health System. The National Council of Social Assistance is mostly a device to enforce policy decisions taken at the federal level of government throughout the Brazilian federation.