CAMINHOS E DESCAMINHOS DO USUÁRIO DA POLÍTICA DAASSISTÊNCIA NO EXERCÍCIO DO CONTROLE SOCIAL: UM ESTUDO REALIZADO EM MUNICÍPIOS DE GESTÃO PLENA DO SUAS NO ESTADO DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL

by WAUTIER SCHAEFER, STÉPHANIE REGINA

This paper focuses user participation in the social control of the Sistema Únicode Assistência Social (Integrated Social Welfare System ? SUAS) aiming to reflect onthe limitations and possibilities of this practice to care for the population. The choice oftopic for a Master?s thesis is justified by the complex context of social welfare policiesin Brazil, the recent SUAS creation (2005) and its emphasis on the social control of theuser, and the limited scientific research aimed specifically at Social Welfare Programusers. The central issue on which this study is based is: How does the user perceive andcontrol the services offered by SUAS in counties with full program management in thestate of Rio Grande do Sul? The scientific investigation performed followed aqualitative approach within a dialectical-critical focus and seeks support in AntônioGramsci?s theoretical concepts to look into subordinate classes. From a systematizationand analysis of the answers given by SUAS users, two tendencies of social control thatact simultaneously and are followed by the surveyed subjects are pointed out. On onehand, there is the dominant hegemony strengthening, which tends to a depoliticizedcontrol that ultimately reduces the demand for social welfare service benefits; on theother hand, there is the faint appearance of a counter-hegemony which resists anauthoritarian control. Therefore, despite the fact that the user is still to be found at adisadvantage in relation to SUAS management, there are elements that favor a greaterparticipation in the spaces to be occupied and decisive processes, signaling towardsdemocratic emancipation possibilities.