Descentralização político-administrativa e participação popular na política social pública de assistência social em Santa Maria/RS: avanços e desafios

Abstract

Social assistance went though a change inits paradigm over the years. It went from charity and support to public social politics, which is a duty of the State. In this sense, it is observed how the Federal Constitution of 1988 was a historical landmark for this change, and in one of its articles defined administrative political decentralization and popular participation as main guidelines. The current legislation has reinforced this change and the principles and guidelines. This paper analyzes the advances and challenges of political-administrative decentralization and popular participation as the main guidelines of the social politics of Social Assistance in the city of Santa Maria/RS, using the method of deduction and the chosen methods of procedure, which were, the historical and the comparative. It is justified by the need of scientific research for the improvement, construction and planning of social assistance politcs, responsible for attendancing the basic needs of millions of people. Also, the guidelines of political-administrative decentralization and popular participation must be monitored and their benefits and effectiveness evaluated. It is concluded that the guidelines were very important for the implementation and improvement of the actions of the politics, which began to be implemented closer to the population and seeking their participation and, despite the Brazilian legislation being in an advanced stage, there are still many challenges for the Implementation of all programs, projects, services and benefits, poor budgetary resources, confusion between the public and the private, and the influences of charity, aid and patronage that have not yet been overcome.