Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) emerge as instruments of the Brazilian public administration, in the context of the privatization policies, initiated in 1995 by the State Reform Master Plan. This reform and the pursuit of greater governance were based on the experience of New Public Management, bringing with it the principles of managerialism and contract government (GAUDIN, 2007). The objective of this paper is to analyze the instruments of social participation present in the public-private partnership legislation of São Paulo and Minas Gerais (2005-2015), under the deliberative perspective of democracy. Through the method of bibliographic and documentary analysis, we observed the scope and the obligation of social participation, identifying the instruments public consultation, public hearing and composition of the management councils. We conclude that public consultation is the only instrument of effective participation in PPPs. Partnership management councils include the participation of representatives of the State and / or participants with a technical profile, marked by the absence of representatives of civil society. It is a composition and adoption of instruments that undermines the deliberative character of democracy. Finally, we raise several cases of partnerships that present legal, financial and contractual problems, in order to suggest a research agenda.
Keywords:
Public-Private Partnerships; Social Participation. Management Councils; Public consultations; Public hearings