Uma proteção social inacabada? A renda básica de cidadania no sistema de proteção social brasileiro

Abstract

The present dissertation aims to investigate the desirability of implementing a basic income policy in Brazil, more specifically the citizenship basic income established by Law No. 10,835/2004. The research seeks to elucidate how the development of the capitalist state influenced the emergence of paradigmatic models of social protection, with a careful consideration of the historical specificities in the construction of these models. It discusses primitive forms of social assistance, Bismarckian social insurance, and the Beveridgean security model, whose evolution intertwines with the experience of the Welfare State. Subsequently, the study presents the characteristics of a universal basic income policy based on contemporary debates and proposals on the subject, aiming to provide the theoretical contributions necessary to differentiate between a basic income policy and assistance-based or insurance-based policies. With this framework, the research examines the legal framework of non-contributory protection measures in Brazil, which are analyzed considering the elements that determined the formation of the class society and Brazilian capitalism. Through an analysis of the evolution of social policies, the research concludes the existence of a particular Welfare State in Brazil, shaped by the marks of slavery, the fragmentation of social policies, and the residual and charitable treatment given to assistance by the State. The contradiction arises between the existence of a contributory social security system and a working class that historically has been closer to informality than included in the market. Faced with this realization, the dissertation analyzes both legislative initiatives for a universal basic income and the characteristics of the two largest assistance policies in the country in terms of coverage: the Bolsa Família Program and the Continuous Benefit Program. It concludes the existence of gaps in the Brazilian protective scheme, which relies, on one hand, on contributory social security, and, on the other hand, on conditional assistance programs that, despite having reduced poverty in a certain period, have failed to contain the worsening of social indicators in the last decade. The dissertation adopts a methodology of literature review combined with document analysis, specifically legislation related to social programs and basic income, whose elements are compared. Finally, in order to corroborate the hypothesis about gaps in the Brazilian protective system, the research uses data produced by the National Household Sample Survey, the Ministry of Social Development, and the General Social Security Regime Secretariat on the evolution of the following indicators in the last decade: employment level, unemployment rate, informality rate, and the number of beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program and the Continuous Benefit Program. By examining the behavior of these indicators, the research suggests considering the feasibility of more universalizing policies, such as the citizenship basic income.