Constitutional Engineering in Brazil: The Politics of Federalism and Decentralization

225 Pages·1997·29.546 MB·English

by  Celina Souza (auth.)

CONSTITUTIONAL ENGINEERING IN BRAZIL
Also by Celina Souza
METROPOLIZA<;A.O BRASILEIRA: Vma Analise dos Anos Setenta
Constitutional
Engineering in Brazil
The Politics of Federalism and
Decentralization
Celina Souza
Professor ofP ublic Administration
Federal University of Bahia-Brazil
Salvador Bahia
Brazil
First published in Great Britain 1997 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houlldmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library,
ISBN 978-1-349-25696-9 ISBN 978-1-349-25694-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-25694-5
First published in the United States of America 1997 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N,Y, 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-17483-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Souza, Celina Maria de.
Constitutional engineering in Brazil: the politics of federalism
and decentralization / Celina Souza.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-17483-5 (cloth)
I. Federal government-Brazil. 2. Decentralization in govemment
-Brazil. 3. Government spending policy-Brazil. 4. Education-
-Brazil-Finance.
JL2420.S8S65 1997
320.481-dc21 97-5322
CIP
© Celina Souza 1997
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1997
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Acknowledgements IX
List of Abbreviations X
1 Introduction 1
1.1 State of the Field 2
i.2 The Study 5
1.3 State of the Art 7
1.4 Instruments, Procedures and Organization of the
Study 21
2 The Role of the Federal Government 24
2.1 Historical Overview of Federalism and
Intergovernmental Relations 24
2.2 The Impact of Decentralization upon the Federal
Government 35
2.3 The Federal Government's Reaction 50
2.4 Conclusions 52
3 The Decision to Decentralize 54
3.1 Political Context and Pacts 55
3.2 The Calling Up of the Constituent National Assembly 58
3.3 Coalition-Building within the Subcommittees 65
3.4 Conclusions 73
4 Conflicts and Alliances 75
4.1 Coalition-Building at the Committee Level 76
4.2 Decentralization in the Broad Sense 84
4.3 Reasons for the Decision to Decentralize 92
4.4 The Aftermath of Decentralization 94
4.5 Conclusions 98
5 Decentralization at Sub national Level 100
5.1 Decentralization at the Level of the States 101
5.2 Decentralization at the Local Level 107
5.3 Overview of the State of Education in Brazil III
5.4 Conclusions I 16
v
vi Contents
6 The Case of Bahia State 118
6.1 Demographic and Spatial Aspects 119
6.2 Socioeconomic Aspects 120
6.3 Political Resources 124
6.4 Financial Resources 138
6.5 Expenditure on Education 142
6.6 Conclusions 145
7 The Case of Salvador and Cama~ari 147
7.1 The Case of Salvador 149
7.2 The Case of Camac;ari 160
7.3 Conclusions 167
8 Conclusion: Intergovernmental Relations,
Decentralization, and Federalism in a Fragmented
Polity 170
8.1 Intergovernmental Relations 171
8.2 Decentralization 174
8.3 Federalism 178
Notes 181
References 192
Index 205
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
2.1 Resources available by level of government, GDP
percentage - 1980-91 37
2.2 Federal government expenditure, GDP percentage -
1970-88 46
2.3 Federal revenue, percentage composition - 1970-89 47
2.4 Estimated tax relief to individuals, sectors and regions,
percentage of total tax relief - 1995 48
4.1 Coalition-building at the plenary sessions, rate of approval
according to the way the proposal was presented 90
4.2 Dispersion in roll-call voting 91
Tables
2.1 Federalism in Brazilian constitutions 25
2.2 Distribution of fiscal revenue in percentage, 1985-93 38
2.3 Distribution of fiscal responsibility by level of
government 39
2.4 Tax assignment in Brazil - 1990 42
2.5 Expenditure assignment in Brazil 44
2.6 Total expenditure by level of government in some federal
countries 46
3.1 Party composition in the inauguration of the CNA 59
3.2 Committees and subcommittees of the CNA 64
4.1 Selected amendments proposed by parliamentarians to the
Committee on the Organization of the State 77
4.2 Selected amendments proposed by parliamentarians to the
Committee on the Tax System, Budget and Finance 81
4.3 Percentage composition of the Systematization Committee
and the CNA by region 85
4.4 Selected roll-calls in the plenary sessions related to the
organization of the state and the fiscal system 88
4.5 Selected roll-calls voting among regions showing their
internal divisions or coherence 88
4.6 Selected roll-calls voting among regions showing their high
degree of compromise 89
VII
viii List of Figures and Tables
4.7 Reasons to decentralize 92
5.1 Average increase rate in the states' expenditure by function,
1981-91 (percentages) 106
5.2 Incidence of public expenditure for education by
educational and income level (percentages) 112
5.3 States' expenditure on education as a percentage of total
expenditure, 1981-91 114
5.4 State capitals' expenditure on education as a percentage of
total expenditure by region, 1981-91 115
6.1 Bahia: structure of the GDP, 1960-90 (percentages) 121
6.2 Bahia: distribution of formal jobs, 1980-89
(percentages) 123
6.3 Bahia: average increase of expenditure by function,
1981-91 139
6.4 Bahia: expenditure by function as a percentage of total
expenditure, 1981-91 141
6.5 Bahia: forms of access to the career of teacher 143
6.6 Bahia: revenues spent on education as a percentage of total
expenditure and current revenue, 1981-91 144
7.1 Salvador: expenditure by function as a percentage of total
expenditure, 1981-91 157
7.2 Salvador: items of expenditure as a percentage of total
expenditure on education, 1981-91 158
7.3 Cama~ari: expenditure by function as a percentage of total
expenditure, 1981-91 164
7.4 Cama~ari: items of expenditure as a percentage of total
expenditure on education, 1981-91 165
Acknowledgements
This study had its early beginning as a PhD dissertation for the
Department of Government at the London School of Economics and
Political Science (LSE). I am indebted to many helpers during the years
that I spent researching and writing this work. My first thought goes to
Aninha, Ana Lidia, Julia, Nanci, lara and Tais for their loving encourage
ment over this journey. My friends Claudia, Charlot, Maria Lucia, Nelson,
Paulo, Moreira and Walter gave me great moral support while I was in
London. My deepest gratitude goes to Raul Paz.
Among the friends I made in London, special thanks go to Adriana,
Beth, Bob, Cesar, Edesio, Fatiha, 16, Karina, Nick, Nona, Rosa, Sandra,
Soraya, Vera, Ziba and the Ribeiro family. In the academic world I am in
debt to many scholars. Back in Brazil Tereza Sadek and Professor
Lordello de Mello have helped me through the various stages of this work.
D' Alva Kinzo read the final version of the thesis's manuscript. She acted
as a careful reader, as a source of important references and as a great
friend during my ups and downs. In the USA, Barry Ames read earlier
versions of three chapters and wisely advised me when I thought of chang
ing this study's direction. In Britain, Leslie Bethell, Laurence Whitehead
and Patrick Dunleavy made important comments on parts of the manu
script. George Philip, who was my supervisor, provided me with the room
to act, as he always told me, as my own judge. I am grateful to George
Jones, my joint-supervisor, for his careful reading of my chapters. My
examiners Richard Batley and Anthony Hall encouraged me to publish the
manuscript.
I thank my colleagues at the Department of Finance and Public Policies
at the Federal University of Bahia, who replaced me in my academic
duties. I also acknowledge the Coordenadoria de AperJeir;oamento de
Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES) for the financial backing which
made it possible to spend these years studying at the LSE. I am also
indebted to the editors and reviewers at Macmillan.
I dedicate this work to my late father Juarez and to my mother Maria.
My father taught me to love the country, the state and the city where I
live. My mother taught me that they were not the center of the world.
Salvador, Brazil CELINA SOUZA
ix