Challenges for the intergovernmental coordination of the Bolsa Família Program

Abstract

The paper examines the intergovernmental coordination of the Bolsa Família Program (PBF), given its goal to tackle poverty in a country with deep social and regional inequality. It seeks to qualify the debate on the centralization of cash transfer programs in Brazil through the analysis of intergovernmental relations adopted under the three main dimensions of the PBF - cash transfer, monitoring of conditionalities and articulation of complementary programs - considering the federative implications derived from the intersectoral perspective that drives the Program. Two categories of challenges are highlighted. The first one relates to the need for greater investment in space and opportunities for intergovernmental negotiation, especially in the dimension of income transfer, which initially was characterized by centralization. In the second, the intergovernmental matter demands the organization of a coordinated national strategy for the articulation of complementary programs, suggesting greater involvement of states in the regional coordination of the Program.