A implementação dos programas Bolsa-Família e oportunidades sob a perspectiva da condicionalidade educacional: uma análise a partir dos agentes públicos de base

Abstract

This study analyzes the implementation process of the Bolsa Família Program and Oportunidades, considering the perspective of the street-level bureaucrats towards the educational condicionality. Both programs offer a monetary benefit for extreme poor families, linking the provision of this benefit to the condition that families comply with co-responsibilities in the areas of education and health. The work of Lipsky (980) is considered an important reference to the literature of implementation because it analyses this process from the perspective of the actors who are closest to the citizens, assuming that these agents exert influence on these policies, changing its course of action. By analyzing these programs in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and San Luis Potosi (Mexico), educational professional, social agents, Responsables de Atención and Vocales are the ones that match the characterization developed by Lipsky (980). Research in Brazil started from two public schools located in an area extreme poverty and identified the Reference Centers for Social Assistance (CRAS) emerge as one of the spaces of articulation so that the educational conditionality can be fulfilled by families. In Mexico, Regional Care Units (UARs), which rely on a team of street agents, are responsible for the mobilization of holders. When analyzing the interviews in both countries, the conclusion is that there are different types of interaction and mediation among the agents, explained by different perceptions, values and interpretations that these actors construct as they perform their functions. In Belo Horizonte, the implementation of the policy encourages the creation and strengthening of cooperation networks. In Potosí, since the policy is more regulated, the creation of intersectoral linkages is hindered. Despite the nature of the program in that country, the role played by the promoters and the vocales indicates that these references are important because they have created bridges between citizens and the state, besides strengthening the links between the beneficiaries. The same is identified in Brazil when the behavior of social workers, school principals and coordinators is analyzed. In both countries, the role of teachers is not decisive, probably because of the perception that they have in relation to the educational conditionality. The research reveals that this conditionality mobilizes and connects the agents at the local level, even when the intersectoral support is still an institutional problem. At last, it can be said that the role played by the agents reinforce the contribution of Lipsky (1980), highlighting that the perceived discretion in their daily work, combined with interaction styles, provision of services and their attitudes towards programs effectively produces changes in the design of the policies investigated.