Abstract

HIGGINS, Silvio Salej; ARDILA PINTO, Ana Marcela  and  BRAGATO, Josiane. Embedded autonomy and discretionary power of bureaucracies: evidences from an urban geological risk management program in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Estud. sociol [online]. 2016, vol.34, n.101, pp.353-381. ISSN 2448-6442.

During its redemocratization process, Brazil was the stage for social struggles for urban reform and the right to decent housing for the poor. Among the large state capitals, Belo Horizonte stands out for having a specific program for resetting families in situations of geological risk: the Structural Program for Risk Areas (PEAR). We conduct a sociological analysis of the flexible action of the PEAR bureaucracies working in low income communities. Armed with the concepts of embedded autonomy and streetlevel bureaucracy, we identify the agendas of behavior that emerge from tension in the exercise of the functions of this bureaucratic corps: the PEAR employees coordinate collective action and mediate conflict, while they administer scarce resources.

Keywords : bureaucratic insulation; social insertion; discretionary power; street level bureaucracy; Belo Horizonte.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )