Administrative Reforms in Brazil: past, present, and future perspectives following PEC 32/2020

• Autor(a) principal: Secchi, Leonardo
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Farranha, Ana Claudia, Rodrigues, Karina Furtado, Bergue, Sandro Trescastro, Medeiros-Costa, Caio César
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Cadernos Gestão Pública e Cidadania (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/cgpc/article/view/82430
• topic: Reforma Administrativa; Administração Pública; PEC 32/2020; Serviço Público.; Administrative Reform. Public Administration. PEC 32/2020. Public Service. State Reform.; Reforma Administrativa; Administración Pública; PEC 32/2020; Servicio Público; Reforma del Estado.

The aim of this article is to analyze the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 32/2020, both quantitatively and qualitatively. To undertake the analysis, first we review the literature on Public Administration reforms, while contextualizing the proposal accordingly in the Brazilian history of administrative reforms. Second, we undertake a two-step analysis of PEC 32/2020’s contents: the first consists in a systematic content analysis based on word counting, according to categories of public management policies and design of programmatic organizations. The second step consists of the qualitative analysis of the proposed changes to the constitutional principles of Public Administration and human resources management (competition, stability, commission charges, and performance). The results of the analysis show that, by dedicating more than half (53%) of the total content and 74% of its effective content (substantive provisions) to work issues of public servants, the proposal (PEC 32/2020) would be better labelled as a “civil service reform,” and not as an “administrative reform.” Regarding the new proposed constitutional principles, there is redundancy between them, especially linked to the fundamental right to good governance. Finally, we reiterate the timeliness and relevance of the discussion about the hiring process of public employees, tenure and stability for employees, appointed positions, and performance evaluation, as long as they are aligned with the ethical and constitutional principles of public service as a societal value, institutionalized to the legal system and continuously responding to the population’s welfare needs.