The participation of cooperatives in housing public policies in Brazil and Uruguay

Abstract

The segregating economic policy and the inexistence or inefficiency of housing policies are aspects that deepen the social inequalities between the population in different income segments. Uruguay, through the so-called “Ley de Vivienda” (Housing Law), sought to solve the housing debasement by promoting the right to housing and regulating the insertion of cooperatives in access to public policies. The law allows property to be treated as a right, not just as property, and allows cooperatives to act in the planning, execution and administration of housing projects, a principle understood as self-management. In Brazil, the first programs that met the housing demand were fragmented, serving a small portion of the applicants. With the advent of the National Housing Bank (BNH), access to credit for housing was increased. Housing cooperatives were included in this program, including the provision of the middle income market. With the end of the BNH and the dissatisfaction due to the economic crisis, social movements emerged around the issue of urban housing, seeking practical and political articulations to transform the right to housing into law. At the end of the 1980s, the exchange of experiences with Uruguay began to approach the entry of cooperatives into housing of social interest; an aspect previously untested in Brazil. Using the historical-descriptive method, this study results from an analysis of normative and academic production on the subject. It seeks to understand the participation of cooperatives in popular housing and their difficulties in accessing public housing policies.