Articles by Helder Ferreira do Vale
Revista Dados, 2022
Much of the scholarly work on Brazilian federalism has long focused on the ways in which decentra... more Much of the scholarly work on Brazilian federalism has long focused on the ways in which decentralization has produced institutional paralysis under intergovernmental conflict. This article, by contrast, suggests that Brazil has been under a gradual transformation since its democratization, which led to a recentralization of power in the hands of the federal government. It presents a framework that explains how an initial decentralization process (1983–1994) turned into a centralization process (1995–2007) that ultimately increased the regulatory and coordination powers of the Brazilian federal government. In addition, the analysis shows that two main blocs of political parties competed to influence the sequence and speed of legislation related to the decentralization and centralization processes. Specifically, these parties used two competing temporal strategies – foot-dragging and pace-setting – to slow down or accelerate the approval of legislation regulating subnational autonomy. Once the centralizing bloc of parties enacted key legislation, they used fence-building to institutionalize intergovernmental relations, thereby consolidating the coordination powers of the center. The main contribution of this article is to advance a temporal approach to federal changes, which explains how the Brazilian federal government centralized authority under a decentralizing Constitution.
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Latin American Policy, 2021
This article proposes a theoretical framework to analyze
conditional cash transfer programs, as t... more This article proposes a theoretical framework to analyze
conditional cash transfer programs, as the result of a process
of social policy innovation in Brazil. The analysis
reveals a traceable process of innovation behind the creation
of two of these programs, Bolsa Família and Bolsa
Verde. By focusing on the main drivers in the emergence of
Brazilian cash transfer programs, the article analyzes the
innovations in their evolution and shows that these programs
are part of sequential policy learning. By exploring
the drivers, actors, and phases of social policy innovation
in Brazil, the article contributes to the literature on cash
transfer programs by theorizing on how these social assistance
programs innovate, endure, and expand over time.
Furthermore, Brazil's trajectory of social assistance development
dissected in this article reveals Bolsa Família
and Bolsa Verde as outcomes of institutional dynamics
that attempted to foster social investment and to reduce
risks of poverty. In terms of specific contributions, the article
identifies and delves into the configuration of multilevel
network supporting cash transfer programs and the
sequential phases of the development of these programs in
Brazil that reveal a policy learning mechanism.
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Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, 2018
This paper analyzes the internationalization of the Brazilian agricultural sector through a “glob... more This paper analyzes the internationalization of the Brazilian agricultural sector through a “global history” approach. The goal of the paper is to understand the internationalization of agribusiness as a smaller part of a transformation in the global food regime. In tracing the trajectory of agribusiness internationalization in Brazil, the paper explores patterns of local-global interaction and the new opportunities that emerge in global food regimes as a result. Finally, the paper probes the internationalization of Brazilian agribusiness under the state-agrarian elite partnership that has taken advantage of local and global transformations in agribusiness in recent history.
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El artículo busca entender las causas y consecuencias de la impunidad en Brasil. Para ello, el ar... more El artículo busca entender las causas y consecuencias de la impunidad en Brasil. Para ello, el artículo trata la impunidad como consecuencia de factores institucionales y estructurales que sobreviven y se han reafirmado en la sociedad brasileña a lo largo de décadas. Las causas institucionales y estructurales de la impunidad –el sistema de recursos de apelación, la prescripción del crimen, la falta de capacidad del Estado, y la vulnerabilidad socioeconómica de determinados grupos sociales– son determinantes para la creación de una cultura que normaliza el no cumplimiento de penas, la falta de celeridad en los juicios y la aplicación de penas blandas. Con el objetivo de examinar estas causas y sus manifestaciones en varios ámbitos, el artículo identificó cuatro casos emblemáticos –la matanza de jóvenes frente a la Iglesia de la Candelaria en Rio de Janeiro en 1993, el asesinato del recolector de cauchos Chico Mendes en 1988, la corrupción en la Comisión de Presupuestos de la Cámara de Diputados en 1994 y la ruptura de la represa de residuos minerales en Mariana en 2015– que ilustran la existencia de factores institucionales y estructurales propulsores de la impunidad. A través de esos casos el artículo contempla varios delitos que incluyen crímenes de corrupción, ambiental y asesinato colectivo, y enfoca la resolución de cada uno de los casos destacando los elementos de impunidad. El análisis ilustra la impunidad de estos casos que revelan la constante incapacidad del Estado y de la sociedad en Brasil de hacer justicia.
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The article seeks to understand the causes and consequences of impunity in Brazil. With this purpose, the article treats impunity as a consequence of institutional and structural factors that survive and have been reaffirmed in the Brazilian society over the decades. The institutional and structural causes of impunity –the system of appeals, the prescription of crime, the lack of state capacity, and the socioeconomic vulnerability of certain social groups– are determinants for the creation of a culture that normalizes non-compliance of sentences, the lack of speed in the trials and the application of soft sentences. With the aim of examining these causes and their manifestations in several areas, the article identified four emblematic cases –the killing of teenagers in front of the Church of Candelaria in Rio deJaneiro in 1993, the murder of rubber tapper Chico Mendes in 1988, corruption in the Budget Committee of the National Chamber of Deputies in 1994 and the rupture of the mineral waste dam in Mariana in 2015– illustrating the existence of institutional and structural factors that foster impunity. Through these cases, the article contemplates several crimes that include corruption and environmental crimes as well as collective murder and focuses on the resolution of each of the cases, highlighting the elements of impunity. The analysis shows high levels of impunity that reveal the constant inability of the State and society in Brazil to carry out justice.
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Do Vale and Cameron offer an account of the sweeping process of decentralization in post-aparthei... more Do Vale and Cameron offer an account of the sweeping process of decentralization in post-apartheid South Africa. The chapter identifies the main characteristics of local asymmetries in South Africa that emerged out of decentralization and explores the institutional dynamics behind these asymmetries. The findings show that the post-apartheid decentralization framework has financially and institutionally enabled mainly the metropolitan municipalities, creating space inequality within the local system of government in South Africa. The chapter also demonstrates through a case study of housing policies in Cape Town and Johannesburg that services vary across metros of different provinces with similar fiscal and administrative capabilities. The chapter concludes that there are several institutional factors behind the creation of an asymmetric regime of place equality in South Africa.
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The article assesses the education reforms in four countries: Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, ... more The article assesses the education reforms in four countries: Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, and Spain. The main objective of the comparison is to identify the elements of the reforms that led to different educational performances. By taking South Korea as a model of successful education reform, the comparative analysis shows that the educational reforms in Brazil, South Africa, and Spain have set these countries aside from the path toward high-performing educational systems. In these countries, differently from South Korea, decentralizing education reforms have been dominated by conflict over the distribution of fiscal and administrative resources.
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The 2015 congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral elections in Mexico display the continuation of... more The 2015 congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral elections in Mexico display the continuation of political changes that started 15 years ago. The most notorious change in 2015 is the electoral success of non-mainstream parties, which have increased their vote share vis-à-vis the mainstream parties, the Party of National Action (PAN), the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI), and the Party of Democratic Revolution (PRD). These mainstream parties lost important vote shares, although the PRI has shown itself to be more resilient to electoral volatility than the other parties. The increase of volatility in Mexico favours the alternation of the parties in power; however, it also increases political fragmentation. This article argues that in a context of growing electoral volatility and political fragmentation, presidential authority is weakened, giving rise to the dispersion of power to other levels of government. Furthermore, the article suggests that party volatility presents important territorial variation in Mexico.
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This article examines the changes at the local level of government that have been taking place in... more This article examines the changes at the local level of government that have been taking place in Brazil, India and South Africa for the past thirty years as a result of complex federal decision-making processes. I summarize the most important federal traits of these countries and identify the role of key institutions behind the fiscal, political and administrative changes in local governments. The article draws on the institutional processes to dissect the anatomy of local government reforms in these countries and concludes that although the changes in local government structures and powers have been taken against the background of transition to democracy and/or democratic deepening, the scope of change in local government varied.
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The 2014 presidential elections showed a growing political polarization based on regional differe... more The 2014 presidential elections showed a growing political polarization based on regional differences in Brazil. Against this backdrop, President Dilma Rousseff was re-elected by the slimmest margin ever obtained by a Brazilian president. Rousseff’s Workers’ Party (PT) has held the presidency for the past 12 years, gaining widespread support for reducing social inequality and maintaining macroeconomic stability in the country. However, as the latest presidential elections show, this support for the PT and its presidential candidate has eroded. This article argues that as a result of fiercer competition for votes, a more politically polarized discourse was used in the presidential campaign to mobilize voters around Brazil’s regional divide between the richer south and the poorer north. In the analysis, the article attempts to elucidate possible causes of territorial patterns of voting in Brazil’s 2014 presidential elections.
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This article establishes a connection between institutional changes at local levels of government... more This article establishes a connection between institutional changes at local levels of government and local autonomy under federated political dynamics. To this end, the article examines how local governments in Brazil and South Africa gained administrative and fiscal autonomy by creating new municipalities. Focusing on the institutional incentives
for those changes, the article identifies and analyses why the increase in the number of municipalities in Brazil and its reduction in South African affected the power of their respective local governments. The findings suggest that by using different processes to reinvent new local governments and creating intergovernmental institutions for cooperation, local political actors in both countries increased their power vis-à-vis other levels of government.
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This article analyzes the dynamics of democratization in India, Malaysia and Mexico. Over the pas... more This article analyzes the dynamics of democratization in India, Malaysia and Mexico. Over the past decade, these countries, which have been governed by dominant parties, adopted or reinvigorated democratic practices. Unlike the predictions that postulated that democratization often occurs in a context of party competition, the article discusses existing mechanisms in dominant party systems that force the ruling party to encourage political transformations as a survival strategy. These three cases reveal that the growing political opposition at the local level was a determining factor behind the adoption of democratizing measures by dominant parties. Therefore, the article builds on the relationship between democratization and local opposition in dominant party systems.
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In 2012, the simultaneous elections at the federal, state and municipal levels in Mexico reopened... more In 2012, the simultaneous elections at the federal, state and municipal levels in Mexico reopened the debate about the path of democratic consolidation in the country. With the return of the Revolutionary Institutional Party to the presidency in 2013, there are renewed signs that Mexican democratic consolidation is underway. Particularly important in this process is that the 2012 gubernatorial and mayoral elections have been more competitive, resulting in higher political alternation in power between political parties. Under a changing subnational political context, there are indications that subnational politicians are no longer under the shadow of a dominant party system. As a more consolidated federal democracy, the political landscape in Mexico has become more complex.
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This article explains how judicial review influences intergovernmental political dynamics in Braz... more This article explains how judicial review influences intergovernmental political dynamics in Brazil, Colombia and Spain. The argument is developed in light of two questions: how supreme courts have established themselves as pivotal institutions for settling vertical intergovernmental disputes, and how national and subnational politicians use judicial review in order to enhance their own interests. A comparison between the judicial review processes in federal Brazil, quasi-federal Spain, and unitary Colombia provides an answer to these questions. Accounting
for the differences in the territorial organization and systems of government
among these countries, the article assesses the patterns of judicial review originating
from the subnational level. Findings suggest that courts affect the interaction between national and subnational politicians in the three country-cases, but through different patterns of judicialization of territorial politics.
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Book Reviews by Helder Ferreira do Vale
Starting in the 1980s, the making of a democratic Brazil has been a long and tortuous process. Br... more Starting in the 1980s, the making of a democratic Brazil has been a long and tortuous process. Brazilian democracy has been historically associated with clientelism, patronage and elite-capture. Activating Democracy in Brazil analyses the turning point of a democracy that has been systematically criticised for being out of reach for ordinary Brazilians. The book examines the process of democratic deepening in Brazil with the proliferation of participatory institutions and dynamics under the concept of a 'participatory citizenship regime'. This regime is depicted as a process of expanding participation to ordinary citizens in the allocation of political resources and public goods. Brian Wampler considers the participatory citizenship regime as an instrument that ultimately transforms political rights into social rights giving opportunities for ordinary citizens to set the policy-making agenda. Through an in-depth analysis of the institutional architecture and dynamics of Belo Horizonte, Wampler provides one of the best analyses of the local democratic changes that Brazil has undergone over the past two decades. Wampler's thorough case study is constructed around robust data, which include surveys and interviews of civil society leaders, and the exploration of budgetary and legislative documents.
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European Review of History-revue Europeenne D Histoire, 2010
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Papers by Helder Ferreira do Vale
Latin American Policy
This article proposes a theoretical framework to analyze conditional cash transfer programs, as t... more This article proposes a theoretical framework to analyze conditional cash transfer programs, as the result of a process of social policy innovation in Brazil. The analysis reveals a traceable process of innovation behind the creation of two of these programs, Bolsa Família and Bolsa Verde. By focusing on the main drivers in the emergence of Brazilian cash transfer programs, the article analyzes the innovations in their evolution and shows that these programs are part of sequential policy learning. By exploring the drivers, actors, and phases of social policy innovation in Brazil, the article contributes to the literature on cash transfer programs by theorizing on how these social assistance programs innovate, endure, and expand over time. Furthermore, Brazil's trajectory of social assistance development dissected in this article reveals Bolsa Família and Bolsa Verde as outcomes of institutional dynamics that attempted to foster social investment and to reduce risks of poverty. I...
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Articles by Helder Ferreira do Vale
conditional cash transfer programs, as the result of a process
of social policy innovation in Brazil. The analysis
reveals a traceable process of innovation behind the creation
of two of these programs, Bolsa Família and Bolsa
Verde. By focusing on the main drivers in the emergence of
Brazilian cash transfer programs, the article analyzes the
innovations in their evolution and shows that these programs
are part of sequential policy learning. By exploring
the drivers, actors, and phases of social policy innovation
in Brazil, the article contributes to the literature on cash
transfer programs by theorizing on how these social assistance
programs innovate, endure, and expand over time.
Furthermore, Brazil's trajectory of social assistance development
dissected in this article reveals Bolsa Família
and Bolsa Verde as outcomes of institutional dynamics
that attempted to foster social investment and to reduce
risks of poverty. In terms of specific contributions, the article
identifies and delves into the configuration of multilevel
network supporting cash transfer programs and the
sequential phases of the development of these programs in
Brazil that reveal a policy learning mechanism.
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The article seeks to understand the causes and consequences of impunity in Brazil. With this purpose, the article treats impunity as a consequence of institutional and structural factors that survive and have been reaffirmed in the Brazilian society over the decades. The institutional and structural causes of impunity –the system of appeals, the prescription of crime, the lack of state capacity, and the socioeconomic vulnerability of certain social groups– are determinants for the creation of a culture that normalizes non-compliance of sentences, the lack of speed in the trials and the application of soft sentences. With the aim of examining these causes and their manifestations in several areas, the article identified four emblematic cases –the killing of teenagers in front of the Church of Candelaria in Rio deJaneiro in 1993, the murder of rubber tapper Chico Mendes in 1988, corruption in the Budget Committee of the National Chamber of Deputies in 1994 and the rupture of the mineral waste dam in Mariana in 2015– illustrating the existence of institutional and structural factors that foster impunity. Through these cases, the article contemplates several crimes that include corruption and environmental crimes as well as collective murder and focuses on the resolution of each of the cases, highlighting the elements of impunity. The analysis shows high levels of impunity that reveal the constant inability of the State and society in Brazil to carry out justice.
for those changes, the article identifies and analyses why the increase in the number of municipalities in Brazil and its reduction in South African affected the power of their respective local governments. The findings suggest that by using different processes to reinvent new local governments and creating intergovernmental institutions for cooperation, local political actors in both countries increased their power vis-à-vis other levels of government.
for the differences in the territorial organization and systems of government
among these countries, the article assesses the patterns of judicial review originating
from the subnational level. Findings suggest that courts affect the interaction between national and subnational politicians in the three country-cases, but through different patterns of judicialization of territorial politics.
Book Reviews by Helder Ferreira do Vale
Papers by Helder Ferreira do Vale
conditional cash transfer programs, as the result of a process
of social policy innovation in Brazil. The analysis
reveals a traceable process of innovation behind the creation
of two of these programs, Bolsa Família and Bolsa
Verde. By focusing on the main drivers in the emergence of
Brazilian cash transfer programs, the article analyzes the
innovations in their evolution and shows that these programs
are part of sequential policy learning. By exploring
the drivers, actors, and phases of social policy innovation
in Brazil, the article contributes to the literature on cash
transfer programs by theorizing on how these social assistance
programs innovate, endure, and expand over time.
Furthermore, Brazil's trajectory of social assistance development
dissected in this article reveals Bolsa Família
and Bolsa Verde as outcomes of institutional dynamics
that attempted to foster social investment and to reduce
risks of poverty. In terms of specific contributions, the article
identifies and delves into the configuration of multilevel
network supporting cash transfer programs and the
sequential phases of the development of these programs in
Brazil that reveal a policy learning mechanism.
--------
The article seeks to understand the causes and consequences of impunity in Brazil. With this purpose, the article treats impunity as a consequence of institutional and structural factors that survive and have been reaffirmed in the Brazilian society over the decades. The institutional and structural causes of impunity –the system of appeals, the prescription of crime, the lack of state capacity, and the socioeconomic vulnerability of certain social groups– are determinants for the creation of a culture that normalizes non-compliance of sentences, the lack of speed in the trials and the application of soft sentences. With the aim of examining these causes and their manifestations in several areas, the article identified four emblematic cases –the killing of teenagers in front of the Church of Candelaria in Rio deJaneiro in 1993, the murder of rubber tapper Chico Mendes in 1988, corruption in the Budget Committee of the National Chamber of Deputies in 1994 and the rupture of the mineral waste dam in Mariana in 2015– illustrating the existence of institutional and structural factors that foster impunity. Through these cases, the article contemplates several crimes that include corruption and environmental crimes as well as collective murder and focuses on the resolution of each of the cases, highlighting the elements of impunity. The analysis shows high levels of impunity that reveal the constant inability of the State and society in Brazil to carry out justice.
for those changes, the article identifies and analyses why the increase in the number of municipalities in Brazil and its reduction in South African affected the power of their respective local governments. The findings suggest that by using different processes to reinvent new local governments and creating intergovernmental institutions for cooperation, local political actors in both countries increased their power vis-à-vis other levels of government.
for the differences in the territorial organization and systems of government
among these countries, the article assesses the patterns of judicial review originating
from the subnational level. Findings suggest that courts affect the interaction between national and subnational politicians in the three country-cases, but through different patterns of judicialization of territorial politics.