A esfera pública nos trilhos? uma análise da atuação dos grupos de interesse na implementação do Monotrilho do Subúrbio Ferroviário de Salvador

Abstract

This study seeks to analyze the impacts generated by popular participation, together with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Bahia, in the formative process and in the initial implementation of the urban policy that aims to replace the old train in Salvador’s Suburb with a monorail system. This dispute scenario stems from the directing of politically non-hegemonic public spheres to make effective the participation of the inhabitants of the Railway Suburb neighborhoods in the process of democratic construction of the city. In this public sphere, historically excluded social actors have acted within decision-making arenas to vocalize interests and issues revolving around the right to the city related to the construction of the new transport mode, thematizing problems of urban mobility, changes in fare affordability, the need to transport goods, among other demands not addressed by the government of the State of Bahia. The central question of this research, therefore, lies in the consequences of actions opposing and supporting public policy, which were analyzed from a theoretical-empirical study of this path of dispute for the transformation of the city in the face of the obstacles imposed by the new reason of the world implemented by urban entrepreneurship and corporate governance, which characterize the operations of this government. This governance represents a new global approach to neoliberalism in decision-making and the implementation of public policies, based on market mechanisms, decentralization of implementation, and depoliticization of relations with citizens. Nevertheless, the actors from the neighborhoods affected by the aforementioned project sought the institutional legitimacy of the MPBA to carry forward their discussions. Based on these premises, this research was developed with both a theoretical and empirical character, through a methodology that sought to encompass triangulation among different methods, sources, and techniques, using bibliographical research and documentary analysis of the instituted procedures and related secondary data, whose coding was carried out with the aid of the qualitative research software Atlas.ti. In view of this, it is intended to contribute to interpretations and to the field of public policy analysis, but also to add to citizens’ understanding of this process and of the instruments and strategies available to realize an active citizenship capable of transforming social reality.