Fundamentos constitucionais da proteção social: continuidades e ruturas

Abstract

Resumo Neste artigo discutimos de que forma a Constituição da República Portuguesa enformou as escolhas políticas presentes na definição do estado social democrático e de que modo os princípios constitucionais se fazem refletir na arquitetura do sistema e se foram alterando ao longo do tempo. Argumentamos que, aquando da transição para a democracia, ao contrário de outras áreas de políticas sociais, a segurança social manteve princípios organizadores anteriores. Contudo, esta resiliência da matriz bismarckiana do sistema português não foi impeditiva da expansão da proteção social portuguesa de acordo com princípios universais e concedeu aos sucessivos governos margem de manobra para definirem políticas programaticamente distintas e implementarem estratégias reformistas diferenciadas. Concluímos argumentando que, se bem que a Constituição não tenha sido um limite intransponível para a ação política dos executivos, esta tem operado de facto como um ponto de veto, nomeadamente pela forma como o Tribunal Constitucional tem defendido o direito à proteção social, seja numa lógica de seguro social, seja na sua vertente de mínimos sociais.Palavras-chave: estado social, Constituição, europeização.Abstract This article discusses the ways in which the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic has embodied to the political choices made during the process of creating and defining a democratic welfare state and how the various constitutional principles are reflected in the architecture of the system and have gradually changed over the years. The authors argue that when Portugal transitioned to democracy, unlike other areas of the country's social policies the social security system retained some of its earlier organising principles. Having said this, this resilience on the part of the Portuguese system's Bismarckian template has not prevented social protection from expanding here in accordance with universal principles, and has given successive governments manoeuvring room in which to define programmatically distinct policies and implement differentiated reformist strategies. The paper concludes by arguing that while the Constitution has not placed an insurmountable limit on governments' political action, it has served as a point of veto, namely by means of the way in which the Constitutional Court has defended the right to social protection, be it in the form of social insurance, be it in the imposition of certain social minima.Keywords: welfare state, Constitution, Europeanisation.Résumé Cet article cherche à savoir comment la Constitution portugaise a influencé les choix politiques présents dans la définition de l'État social démocratique et de quelle façon les principes constitutionnels se reflètent dans l'architecture du système et ont changé au fil du temps. L'auteur soutient que lors de l'instauration de la démocratie, contrairement à d'autres domaines de politiques sociales, la sécurité sociale a gardé d'anciens principes d'organisation. Cependant, cette résilience de la matrice bismarckienne du système portugais n'a pa...

Social Innovation and the Role of the State: Learning from the Portuguese Experience on Multi-Level Interactions

“…One aspect of this process that has been the subject of interest over the last decade has been the growing trend of Europeanization of social policies adopted by Portugal [51], which explains, in part, why Portugal was one of the first countries to heed the recommendations of the EU regarding social innovation. It also contributes to understanding the key event that triggered the implementation of social innovation in Portugal: the 2008 financial crisis and the ensuing bail-out program enacted by the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank, and European Commission, the lasted between 2011 and 2014.…”

The Politics of Austerity and Social Citizenship Rights: A Case Study of the Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis on the Welfare State in Portugal

“…In addition, Articles 68, 69, 70, 71 and 72 enacted the rights to and services for maternity, children and youth, people with disabilities and older adults. Articles 73, 74 and 76 introduced the right to free and universal public education (Briggs, 1961;Ferreira, Carolo, Pereira, & Silva, 2016;Marshall, 1950;TC, 1976).…”

“…Nevertheless, it is important to understand between the rights of social citizenship enacted by the 1976 Constitution, the traditions and ideals behind them, and what they mean for the development of the Portuguese welfare state. According to Ferreira et al (2016), a close analysis of the Constitution of 1976 shows that, despite the enactment of an extensive bundle of social citizenship rights for all citizens, it is clear that, the creation of the Health Care System (SNS) and the investment in the public Education System were following a socialist or social-democratic tradition -both universal, free and unconditional (Briggs, 1961;Ferreira et al, 2016;Marshall, 1950;TC, 1976).…”

“…unemployment insurance. Therefore, Ferreira et al (2016, p. 74) demonstrates that significant gaps of social protection had to be filled by charitable organizations and other organizations in civil society (Ferreira et al, 2016). Ferrera (1996) defined the Portuguese welfare state as a departure from corporatist principles in the field of health care, as a result of the universalistic principles of the National Health Care System.…”