Leftist Governments and new forms of public service delivery: pragmatism and other factors

The paper will analyze the controversies on the partnerships with Social Organizations (SOs), initially criticized and then adopted by the Workers Party in Brazil. The aim is to investigating whether and how the model has... [ view full abstract ]

The paper will analyze the controversies on the partnerships with Social Organizations (SOs), initially criticized and then adopted by the Workers Party in Brazil. The aim is to investigating whether and how the model has exceeded initial criticism and has been implemented by Federal Government since 2013.
The model of SOs was introduced by State reform in Brazil in the 1990’s, inspired by the UK quangos. The SO model intends to overcome the rigidity of rules in the public sector (especially concerning purchasing and HR constraints) while improving performance. It separates financing (which continues to be assured by the State) and delivering of public services (which is assured by nonprofit organizations) based on an agreement on pre-defined targets and performance indicators.
The SO model was introduced in Brazil in 1998, in the context of a State reform proposed by a coalition leaded by the Social Democrat Party. A major change occurred in 2003, when the Workers Party arrived in Federal Government – and won four successive elections since then.
While subnational governments have adopted the SO model since 1998, despite their political orientation, the Federal Government, ruled by the Workers Party, has criticized this model for more than a decade.
Since 2013, however, the Federal Government has adopted the model and created new SOs. Considering that the Workers Party has a strong constituency among public servants, the paper intends to address the puzzle whether the adoption of the SO model is driven by pragmatism or other factors.