Da democratização à cooptação: contradições entre o ideal democrático e a prática participativa no contexto do CACS-Fundeb de Zé Doca-MA

Abstract

The Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and the Valorization of Education Professionals (Fundeb) constitutes the main funding mechanism for basic education in Brazil and established the Social Monitoring and Oversight Councils

(CACS-Fundeb) as spaces for social participation and oversight of public educational re- sources. This research aimed to analyze the performance of the CACS-Fundeb in the mu- nicipality of Zé Doca, Maranhão, Brazil, considering its composition and representative- ness, the training of council members, the material conditions for its functioning, and the

contradictions and power dynamics underlying the exercise of social oversight. Linked to the Professional Master's Degree in Education of the Graduate Program in Education and

Educational Practices at the Federal University of Maranhão, the study adopted a quali- tative approach grounded in Historical-Dialectical Materialism. Bibliographic research,

document analysis, and a semi-structured questionnaire were employed, the latter answe- red by six full members of the current CACS-Fundeb administration in Zé Doca, Mara- nhão. The theoretical framework was based on scholars grounded in critical epistemolo- gies who address public policy-making from a democratic perspective, public education

funding, and democratic management, including Neto (2011), Oliveira (2023), Gohn (2013), Dourado (2013), Pinto (2008), Cury (2010), Davies (2019), and Vieira (2015), among others. Data were analyzed through content analysis based on Bardin's framework (2011), with the aim of establishing thematic categories from the participants' responses and interactions. The findings indicate that, although the Social Monitoring and Oversight Councils of Fundeb are conceived as instruments of citizen participation and oversight of

education resources, their performance is constrained by the bureaucratization of proces- ses, the influence of the local Executive Branch, and the persistence of neo-patrimonial

practices, factors that tend to limit the democratic potential of these spaces. As a technical product, a training course was developed for council members, education professionals, and civil society representatives, to be implemented through an extension project.