ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes a specific area of social policy, specifically, the production of health and education services. The model of social policy taking shape is much closer to that of an assistance-oriented policy than to a policy of social security. The complete reorientation of social policy will rest on the basic principle that the state has the obligation to guarantee social rights; in other words, fulfillment of social rights is seen as a public function. The chapter explores the principal changes since 1983, recognizing the continuity of policies since that date and the problems in this area. It examines the strategic axes of an alternative policy that prioritizes the strengthening and democratic transformation of the public institutions that produce the services and favors the redistribution of social wealth toward the working classes. Democratization of the management of the institutions is part of the general democratization of public action.
