O cofinanciamento da União para o Sistema Único de Assistência Social na contemporaneidade brasileira: percursos de uma avaliação em profundidade

Abstract

This dissertation examines the federal co-financing of the National Social Assistance Policy (PNAS) and the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) in Brazil, covering the period from 2014 to 2024, through a critical and in-depth evaluative perspective. Although Social Assistance is part of the Social Security tripod established by the 1988 Federal Constitution, its financing remains discretionary, unlike Health and Social Security, which are classified as mandatory expenditures. This structural condition has weakened the stability of the policy and exposed it to fiscal restrictions and political disputes. The research was structured around three analytical axes: (i) the normative and institutional trajectory of Social Assistance as a public policy of social protection; (ii) the dynamics of federal financing, particularly after Constitutional Amendment No. 95/2016, which imposed a spending cap and deepened underfunding; and (iii) the perspectives of key actors—managers, policymakers, and academics—whose contributions provided insights into the challenges faced in local territories and within the federative pact. The methodology combined documentary and statistical analysis of federal budget data with semi-structured interviews, articulating both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Findings reveal persistent contradictions between the institutional framework of LOAS/PNAS and federal budgetary practices, characterized by cuts, instability, and growing dependence on parliamentary amendments. This pattern undermines the regularity of transfers to states and municipalities and limits their capacity to provide continuous social protection. The study concludes that the sustainability of SUAS requires its reclassification as a mandatory federal expenditure, ensuring financial stability and predictability. Such change would strengthen the federative pact, broaden social participation in policymaking, and reaffirm social protection as a fundamental right of citizenship and a structural element of Brazilian democracy.