Parties and institutions in road infrastructure policies in São Paulo - 1978/2016

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

This article analyzes road infrastructure policies in the municipality of São Paulo in 13 governments over 38 years (1978-2016). The literature on urban public policies is underdeveloped, largely due to the lack of theoretical dialogue between political science and urban studies. This article contributes to the field by analyzing the main political and institutional elements surrounding a public policy that are central to the functioning of cities and their power dynamics.

Materials and Methods:

The study is based on interviews with actors in the sector, the investigation to documents and the access to primary data on government contractors and public bids, collected directly from the Official Gazette of the Municipality.

Results:

The analysis of investments indicates that these policies are mainly explained by two combined dimensions. On the one hand, policies followed political-ideological distinctions between governments that imprinted preferences and emphases on different types of programs. The main difference is between right-wing governments and the others, with the former concentrated on bigger and more expensive works, contracted with larger contractors and concentrated on certain types of works. On the other hand, a second important element concerns the growing influence of recent public policy institutions and instruments, which generated isolation in hiring and leveraged substantial amounts of additional resources for the policy.

Discussion:

The results confirm the relevance of partisan politics theory arguments, but also the urgency of incorporating institutional elements in the analysis of urban policies.

Keywords
public policies; road infrastructure; policy instruments; urban operations; political parties