Discursive disputes around urban mobility: the case of „free fare‟ in Belo Horizonte

Abstract

This article analyzes the discursive disputes around urban mobility in Belo Horizonte. It starts from the background and context of the free fare proposal and is based on pragmatist foundations for understanding the discursive construction of public policies, their problems, audiences, and arenas. It has an exploratory nature and articulates the following question: what are the different discourses about public transport and how do they contribute to shaping urban mobility policy in Belo Horizonte? The article analyzes the context of the public transport funding crisis and the solution of fare subsidies, highlighting the meanings in tension in this funding policy. It moves on to a qualitative analysis of journalistic articles during the period of dispute over the adoption of the fare subsidy in Belo Horizonte, understanding medio forums as instruments of political discussion and justification of public action. The discourses reveal at least two political projects underlying the conflict: the first, based on technical and neoliberal premises, and articulated from the point of view of the efficiency of public spending; and the second, supported by a notion of "life without turnstiles" and articulated from the point of view of the right to the city.