Direito à moradia na política habitacional: uma avaliação do Programa Minha Casa, Minha Vida

Abstract

The My House My Life Program (MHMLP) is Brazil’s largest and most ambitious housing policy, having contracted over 6 million units and received subsidies of approximately 223 billion Brazilian reais. However, the housing deficit remained relatively stable. The aim of this dissertation is to understand why this happened and evaluate whether the MHMLP adequately promoted the right to housing. It is divided into three chapters: the first offers an integrated view of housing, combining legal, political, and economic dimensions; the second reviews the history of Brazilian housing policies from 1889 to 2009; and the third describes the legal-institutional arrangement of the MHMLP, discusses its results and opines on the adequacy of the program. Inspired by the approach of Law and Public Policy and based on research in the fields of urbanism, economics and law, as well as administrative reports on the program, the work argues that the MHMLP did not promote the right to housing equitably and sustainably, deviating from constitutional norms that impose on the public power the duty to reduce poverty and inequality through efficient policies for housing construction and improvements in housing conditions. This occurred because the program failed to prioritize those who needed it most and obstructed the development of a more suitable housing system for promoting the right to housing. The dissertation concludes that housing construction programs should be included in the National System of Social Interest Housing, in order to allow for a more comprehensive, participatory and decentralized approach to housing needs.