Políticas de igualdade : o Bolsa-Família e a nova social-democracia

Abstract

The conditional cash transfers programs have become a very common option of social policy in many Latin American countries, including Brazil. Programs such as the Brazilian Bolsa Família, initially classified as a neoliberal policy, now show characteristics that make them closer to a pattern of social-democratic policies from a new context of scarcity of resources and globalization. Some authors, such as Esping-Andersen (2002), classify some cash transfer programs as an alternative policy to promote social welfare. Bolsa Familia, the Brazilian conditional cash transfer program, was officially launched in 2003. It was one of the largest social policies of the center-left government of Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), during the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The policy is non-contributory, changing the model of the social protection which has prevailed in the country until those days. Moreover, according to studies, Bolsa Familia is one of the main reasons for decrease in inequality and income increase. These factors, as well as aspects that relate this social policy to the politics which guarantee its success, confirm the existence of a center-left social policy agenda. These preferences persist despite of a supposedly homogeneous choices in a world ruled by economic constrains.