Government and municipal administration: the Brazilian experience

• Autor(a) principal: Mello, Diogo Lordello de
• Data de Publicação: 2001
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Administração Pública
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/rap/article/view/6372
• topic: administração pública; governo municipal.

This paper deals with the status of the municipality in the Brazilian governmental system, since its introduction during the colonial regime until today. The paper lists the references to municipal governments in the constitutions of 1824, 1891, 1934, 1937, 1946, 1967 (and its 1969 1st amendment), and 1988 (including its amendments). The intergovernmental relations involving the municipalities are also discussed, as well as the issues of concurrent and common responsibilities among municipalities, states and the Union. The municipal revenue sources, including the issues that are currently being discussed by the Congress, receive a special attention, considering the pleas from the municipal governments, supported by the municipalist associations. These associations - over 600, national, student, and micro-regional - have played an important role since the elaboration of the 1988 Constitution. The paper analyzes the development of the municipal governments' managerial structure, especially in large and medium-sized cities, as well as the growth of councils that increase the community's participation in the discussion of municipal plans and projects. Finally, the paper compares some important traits of the Brazilian system of municipal government with those of other countries, including the features related to the multiplication of municipalities.