The Health Councils, institutionalized in the early 1990s, were designed as alternatives to the traditional model of lobbying. They have the legal power to formulate strategies and monitor implementation of health policy at the federal, state and municipal levels. Today, all municipalities and states in Brazil have a Health Council, with representatives of users, professionals and managers of the Unified Health System. Users have equal representation in the other two segments. This paper aims to assess the motivations that representatives of the users have to participate in this instance the public interest representation. Methodologically were interviewed 12 councilors, representatives of users in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and Recife. The evidence found in the words of the users' counselors surveyed indicated the ratification of patrimonial practices. This paper adds to the analytical efforts of some researchers in recent years have evaluated the experience of organization and actions of the Health Councils, and innovates to assess the views of users' counselors.
Health Councils; social control; community representation