O serviço público e a Constituição brasileira de 1988

Abstract

This work focuses on public services the definition, system, principles, and organizational and performance structures of which were stricken a heavy blow on account of the sweeping privatization and deregulation program that extended over some of the major sectors of the Brazilian economy operating a government monopoly until then.

Starting from such premise, this study will first probe into the formation and evolution of the classical theory applying to public services, and the underpinnings of its first crisis. This work will then address the factors that materialized into a redesign of the State functions and role; the internal fragmentation of government actions, the government measures intended to encourage community action; and the growth of the so-called "third sector". After a brief analysis of community law, the transformations prompted by the wording of the 1988 Constitution will be commented on, with special emphasis being placed on the principles (including those ensuing from the new regulatory model for competition and the application of competition and antitrust rules), the legal framework, and the current trends towards protection of public service users (who are now equated to consumers or clients), and the organizational mechanisms adopted within this scenario.

Finally, we will offer our conclusions and some propositions