Sidney Jard da Silva

Companheiros servidores: o avanço do sindicalismo do setor público na CUT

Since its foundation in 1983, CUT has increasingly counted on the participation of workers on both its deliberative and organizational levels. The paper describes in detail how and by what means the specific demands of public sector workers have an influence over CUT. The public and state employees relative clout with CUT is presented through an analysis of their participation on the entitys national congresses, in State and national directors board levels, and through their relative weight inside the CUTs unionism, both in number of affiliations and paying members. In addition, at the same time that the article focuses on the influence of public sector unionism over CUTs political decisions concerning State reform, it also analyzes CUTs position in the debate about the constitutional reform implemented on Fernando Henrique Cardosos first mandate (1995-1998). In this section the article tries to identify the main reasons for the breakdown of the negotiations between the government and the union confederations concerning the Brazilian social security system.

ANÁLISE COMPARATIVA DAS POLÍTICAS DE GOVERNANÇA ELETRÔNICA NOS BRIC(s)

This article provides an analysis about Public Governance based on its definition related to the relevance of citizen participation and transparency between state and society from its technological systematization, the Electronic Governance. Therefore, this article develops an exploratory analysis on Electronic Governance in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) – through an extensive review of national and international literature about the subject. Furthermore, it holds a comparative analysis using the Electronic Participation Index (e-Participation Index) and Electronic Government Index (e-government Index) in a continuum of time among 2003 – 2010 based on official reports published by the United Nations. The results, besides highlighting the impact of the economic crisis of 2008 on investments in ICTs in the BRICs, reveal quantitative and qualitative disparities between countries resulting from strategies and government actions in relation to this area.

Novos modelos previdenciários na América Latina: lições da experiência Argentina

New pension programs in Latin America: lessons from the Argentinean experience. This work analyzes the political constraints of pension reform in Argentina. The first part presents a brief description of the development of pension programs in Latin America. Additionally, it also discusses the pension system crisis and the main proposals in order to overcome this crisis. The second part examines the peculiarities of the Argentine pension reform, with specific attention on economic imperatives and political constraints which have shaped

Unionism, the Decision-Making Process and Social Security Reform in Brazil

Despite the vast literature on social security reform there are relatively few studies that analyze the participation of representatives coming from the union movement in the decision-making process. This article aims to fill part of that gap in Brazilian academic production on unionism and public policy. In situations in which unionist representatives support the ruling party, does the union bloc tend to defend the specific interests of their base of social representation or to follow the guidance of the party coalition of which they are part? The study addresses this research problemby analyzing the participation of the union bloc in the decision-making process of a social security reform, Proposal of Amendment to the Constitution, Article 40 (PEC 40), during the first term of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas government. The main findings of the study confirm the thesis of party predominance. In an institutional political scenario in which party discipline prevails, unionist representatives and senators tend to follow the guidance of the party coalition even under contrary pressures from their electoral base. The research sheds light on the relations involved between the Executive and Legislative branches, in the process of changing public policy, in which a government considered to be allied imposes losses for specific sectors of the union base, notably the active and inactive public servants of the federal government, states and municipalities.