ABSTRACT
Decentralization is an old concept and a well-known political slogan among Brazilian scholars, politicians, and public executives. The only common ground recognized across varied and distinct groups and interests is the necessity of improving the process, in an organized and coherent way. As usual, fragmented and improperly focused actions remain the government's characteristic pattern of behavior as far as decentralization is concerned. One of the main goals of decentralization is adequately focused public policy, especially policy designed to combat poverty—specifically policy on education and health. The decentralization process should profit from both parliamentarism and a mixed electoral system, and so should democratic consolidation, because local and regional representation at the National Congress will gain power with the implementation of both measures. Decentralization of responsibilities across the different levels of government, and the possibility of joint actions between the public and private sectors, did not feature on the main agenda of discussions for the constitutional revision.
