Importância das Políticas Públicas Municipais de Economia Solidária

A experiência de Ubatuba/SP

Abstract

Departing from the concrete experience of implementing public policies of solidarity economy in Ubatuba, a city located in the North Coast of the State of São Paulo, the authors discuss common challenges faced by municipalities and how to overcome them. Sociocommunity organization, policy formalization and regulation, financial and human resources, training of managers and society to understand the solidarity economy and its possibilities as a local development strategy, as well as the challenge of overcoming the capitalist hegemonic culture, which privileges individuals in detriment of collective are among the topics addressed in the article. Ubatuba municipal administration (mandate 2013-2016) invested in building spaces for dialogue with society - such as conferences and municipal councils, has implemented legislations and brought federal policies such as the PNAE - National School Feeding Program - to the municipal level, which allowed the strengthening of family agriculture. In addition, support was given to a cooperative formed by recyclable waste pickers, to the community-based tourism, the Solidarity Economy Fair and to professional artisanal fishing. Such initiatives created formal spaces for solidarity economy practices that were already being carried out in the municipality, although they were not conceived under that name. They also stimulated the dialogue with the population about the need of organizing themselves in order to access those spaces and to debate alternatives to overcome the hegemonic economic model that generates exploitation, violence, social inequality and destruction of nature, impacting mainly on women, traditional communities, as well as the black, indigenous and quilombola population and those in situation of social vulnerability.