Brazilian National Councils of Health and of Social Assistance and the Restructuring of Political Inequalities

Fora with societal participation - such as participatory budgeting and public policy councils and assemblies - have been set up in Brazil throughout the last 20 years in nearly all governmental areas. Among these, stand out the public policy councils for being significantly spread across the country. They are present in municipalities and federation states; there are also 32 councils and two national commissions operating at the federal level of management. These fora are supposed to promote the democratization of the State and democratic governance at the different levels of government. The paper presents the results of a research aiming to verify to what extent this assumption can be confirmed, regarding the National Councils of Health and of Social Assistance. It presents an analysis of the workings of these councils, in 2010, using mostly data from the detailed minutes of their plenary meetings. It also examines councils’ legal and administrative documentation and interviews with councilors.  The study concludes that institutional history and pervasive patterns of political inequalities, in each policy area, limit the scope of democratization they foster. Public policy councils change some aspects of the sectorial structure of political inequalities, but in doing so they help to shape new ones.