PERCEPTIONS ABOUT DEMOCRACY, INEQUALITIES AND PUBLIC POLICIES TO COMBAT HUNGER AND POVERTY IN BRAZIL

Abstract

What do social policies, combating hunger, poverty and inequality policies say about Brazilian democracy? And what kind of support do they receive from Brazilians? Do we have in Brazil the legitimacy bases for more egalitarian and redistributive policies implementation, following the social democratic lines of Welfare-State? It matters to know the perceptions of different social groups about inequalities and ways to combat them, since public policies are an important point of contact between the State and citizens, through which both inform each other about demands, preferences and political interests. Since the expressed opinions affect and are affected by the State actions, they interfere with the social and substantive dimension of equality in democracy. In Brazil, views and perceptions about poverty, justice, social inequalities, social assistance, conditional cash transfer policies, the Bolsa Família Program and about their origins and justifications vary among social groups. Knowing them may help to understand how to improve Brazilian democracy. The work carries out a bibliographical review about the relationship between democracy, citizenship rights and public policies, based on citizens' perceptions  on poverty, hunger, inequalities and State actions and justice criteria to combat them. Comparative, qualitative and quantitative studies are used, including groups such as elites, street-level and high-ranking bureaucrats, policy beneficiaries and sociodemographic strata. Finally, an exploratory analysis on the Latinobarometer and LAPOP surveys’ data is carried out, which confirm the diversity and ambiguity of perceptions highlighted in the literature.