TRANSFORMAÇÕES DO ESTADO E A LEI DE RESPONSABILIDADE FISCAL: a experiência do Maranhão de 2000 a 2005

Abstract

This work is about the creation and implementation of the Law of Fiscal Responsibility ("LRF", in brazilian portuguese and there forth mentioned as that), inserting it in the context of transformations of the State in Brazil. The aim of this research is the further reflection on this issue, thereby helping to prove the legitimacy of the political elements of fiscal adjustment, which implies no prioritization of social spending and preventing the progress of decentralization and autonomy of national units. Public policies are the States responses for the social issues and also mechanisms of legitimization of state action. These policies are hindered when occurs the LRF implementation. This guarantee's limitation of public or social policies are correlated with determinations of power's exercise and therefore the relations between social classes in capitalist society and its presence in the conduct of state apparatus. This study demonstrates that the State, from the relationship with currency, changes it's organization and will be "reformed", this time assuming a new role, a new legal and policy compliance, with effects on local level, especially in Maranhão sub-national State. The creation of a state legal requirement is a consequence of the restructuring of production, the reaction of work and action of legitimacy of the state when it implements the policy. The reform of the Brazilian State is justified because fiscal crisis that leads to adoption of measures of fiscal adjustment. The formation of republic in Brazil has always shown instable as well as its federal system, and the fiscal adjustment measures are deepening centralization of power in central government. Accordingly, the state of Maranhão, in spite of their economic weakness, is the leader in implementing fiscal adjustment of 90 years, adapting to the advent of the Law of Fiscal Responsibility since 2000. It is showing that there is a prioritization of expenditures with public debt at the expense of implementation of public policies, especially social policies.