Bolsa família em disputa política: a reestruturação do programa no governo Bolsonaro ao governo Lula

Abstract

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs (CCTs) are part of the neoliberal political agenda adopted worldwide from the 1970s, becoming more active in Latin America particularly after the 1990s. In Brazil, the genesis of CCTs dates back to 1995, a decade marking the rise of neoliberal governments, starting with some initial experiments at the municipal level. However, the program gained international visibility in 2003 with the creation of the Bolsa Família Program (PBF) during the first term of President Lula's administration. Faced with partisan political disputes that led former President Jair Bolsonaro to revoke the 2003 law establishing the PBF, this study aims to understand the restructuring of the Bolsa Família Program during the Bolsonaro and Lula administrations, highlighting how government programs can be used in partisan political contests. The research employed qualitative exploratory methods, drawing on bibliographic and documentary sources. The analysis of reality used the Critical Dialectical Materialism of Marx, providing a critical interpretation of the concrete reality. The research process revealed political disputes over the underlying conceptions influencing the restructuring of CCTs, which have mutated to align at times with center-left governments and at others with the interests of far-right mandates.