Bureaucratic meetings in the context of the Minha Casa Minha Vida Program housing projects of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This article analyzes the multiple effects of public policy implementation, emphasizing how this process can both reduce and (re)produce social inequalities. Through an articulation between the literature on public policy implementation—especially studies on street-level bureaucrats—and the contributions of the Sociologie du guichet, it examines the dynamics of "bureaucratic encounters" in the context of Phase 1 of the Minha Casa Minha Vida Program (PMCMV) in two municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul: Santa Cruz do Sul and Pelotas. The empirical research was based on direct observations, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with residents of two housing complexes. The results indicate that the effects of implementation are not limited to the material dimension of housing, but also impact symbolic processes of recognition, belonging, and social hierarchization. Bureaucratic encounters prove central to shaping these experiences, potentially reinforcing perceptions of subordination and inferiority, or, in some cases, producing distinction and social recognition. It is argued that the implementation phase constitutes a privileged moment in the daily production of inequalities, requiring analyses that consider its relational, territorial, and symbolic dimensions.