SOCIAL CONTROL AND DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION: THE ROLE OF THE MUNICIPAL HEALTH COUNCIL IN THE CRISIS AND POST-COVID IN THE CONTEXT OF ULTRA-NEOLIBERALISM

Abstract

The neoliberal dictates and the financial capitalism that took place in the 2000s have been causing significant changes in the environment, in people's lives and in the global order. Added to these changes that permeate the area of industry and automation, technology, politics, economy and culture, we are experiencing a recent pandemic. In Brazil, especially, the second half of the twentieth century was marked by intense struggles for the conquest of rights and democracy and the 2000s have been marked by the loss of the rights that had been conquered. To analyze the guarantee of social control in times of the pandemic and post-pandemic of Covid-19 (2020-2023): an observation from the Municipal Health Council of the Municipality of Bom Jesus do Itabapoana-RJ. It is an exploratory research, with a qualitative approach, epistemologically guided by dialectical historical materialism, where we will carry out a literature review, documentary and field research. Data collection will be done in the Municipality of Bom Jesus do Itabapoana, in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, where we will interview counselors and former counselors of the Municipal Health Council. A questionnaire was applied as a data collection instrument. The study thus seeks to offer an in-depth analysis of social control in a context of the intensification of neoliberalism, especially in the health sector, during the Covid-19 crisis and its subsequent recovery period. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Municipal Health Council of Bom Jesus do Itabapoana-RJ adapted by holding remote meetings, but faced low community participation, which limited the effectiveness of policies. Most of the councilors dedicated between one and three hours a week to the activities, with financial support present.