DO ORÇAMENTO PÚBLICO PARA A SATISFAÇÃO DE NECESSIDADES: UMA COMPARAÇÃO DAS POLÍTICAS SOCIAIS BRASILEIRAS DESENHADAS DE CIMA PARA BAIXO

FROM THE PUBLIC BUDGET TO SATISFYING NEEDS: A COMPARISON OF BRAZILIAN SOCIAL POLICIES DESIGNED FROM THE TOP DOWN

Abstract

This article compares three income transfer policies: the Bolsa Família Program, the Auxílio Emergencial, and the Auxílio Brasil. The hypothesis defended here is that the main criterion for defining the terms of social policy is the public budget and not the needs of the benefited population. The share of the public budget that the government is willing to allocate to income transfer policies defines the value of the transfer, the number of people assisted, the targeting, and the poverty lines. The comparative analysis of these three policies reveals the Brazilian State's conception of poverty: it is multidimensional; in other words, it involves insufficient income and difficulty in accessing health and education services. Hence, the direct transfer of monetary resources to families considered poor and extremely poor is the chosen way to fight poverty while conditioning the receipt of the benefit to accessing health and education focusing on children, young people, pregnant and lactating women.