CONSENSUS BUILDING IN THE FORUM OF PUBLIC POLICY COMMUNITIES OF THE VALE DO RIO PARDO RURAL TERRITORY-RS

Abstract

The primary objective of this article is to analyze what are the political and social relationships built between the agents that make up the Vale do Rio Pardo Rural Territory (TRVRP in Portuguese), and that define a specific conformation and management of the community and public policy forum of the Programa Nacional de Desenvolvimento Sustentável dos Territórios Rurais (PRONAT, National Program for Sustainable Development of Rural Territories). The research was conducted using the qualitative methodology based on daily notes in the field notebook and documentary analysis. The analysis was based on the cognitive approach, evaluating how disputes and negotiations related to the production of public policy references are guided, highlighting where they occur in the forums/arenas. The research indicated that each social actor that makes up the institutions has personal trajectories and values that consequently guide their decisions in the forums. These spaces present power relations loaded with meanings and values considered positive and negative, which imply decision-making in social management processes. The arena studied helps to outline the threshold of the agreements signed, strengthening the space of the public policy forum from the expansion of the capacities of social forces to articulate, organize, confront, and establish consensus on proposals for historical problems. In our understanding, this is the key to strengthening the transformations that these spaces offer.