Public health as a social right: Marília’s situation from 2009 to 2014 concerning the unified health system services

• Grant number: 15/08294-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2015
• End date: January 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science
• Principal Investigator: Jair Pinheiro
• Grantee: Ana Carolina Do Carmo Pereira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Marília. Marília , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Federal Constitution of 1988 guarantees in its article 196 that "health is a right for all and the state duty". However the Unified Health System (SUS) was implemented and regulated only in September 19 of 1990, by the Law nº 8080/90. At this time our country was going through two significant moments: besides the re-democratization post-dictatorship currently underway, there was in the world a Walfare State crisis and the arising of the so called neo-liberalism. The health sector was undoubtedly the most affected by the neo-liberal economic policies, and the problems we face today, almost 25 years later, are consequences of this context. The enshrined legal thought affirms that the so called public policies - not only about the health - are a duty of the legislative branch (that elaborates and regulates) and the executive branch (that executes). What happens is that now there is a tendency to "judicialise" the public policies since the executive and legislative branches are no longer providing the access to healthcare services. Therefore, the judicial branch determines the actions for both the executive and the legislative branch. Still, to define the judicial branch as redeemer requests more of a scientific precision, because according to the law everyone has the right to health and this is the state duty, but in practice what happens is a regular denial of this right through the way that government manages the legal-administrative instruments. The finding is that the law doesn´t guarantee an effective equality between the citizens - even though it apparently is to be an equalizer instrument - but it was originated this way and it´s committed to the maintance and protection of the dominant structure in the society. (AU)