Congruence between social and public security policies and citizens’ opinion in Brazil

Abstract

This work is located within a field of empirical studies on political representation, according to the analytical perspective of “political congruence”, an important field in the international literature, though little developed in Brazil. It analyzes, on the one hand, the evolution of opinions among Brazilian citizens on social (health, education and labor policies) and public security issues, and on the other, to what extent there is congruence between these opinions and the legislation in effect about them. Although it is not possible to make generalizations, the conclusions of the article show that the majority of the Brazilian citizens’ opinions have been more “progressive” when it comes to education and labor policies, but more “conservative” regarding abortion and, mainly, public security policies. Concerning legislation, the analysis reveals a high degree of “legislative inertia”: in both cases of congruence and incongruence, the permanence of legislation predominates.