FEDERALISM AND MUNICIPALISM IN THE POLITICAL TRAJECTORY OF BRAZIL

ABSTRACT Federalism as an administrative system of certain states tends to have types of scales in the management of power that allow a more efficient running of the territory. The (de)centralization of power impacts on different administrative aspects of federative entities. Based on this premise, this text seeks to discuss what Federalism is, as a model of political organization of national states, and its impacts on the different terri torial scales in the Brazilian case, with an emphasis on the role of the municipality. From a bibliographical survey on the topics under discussion, it is observed that the alternations in administrative competencies between the municipality, state and union have impacted on the distribution and possibilities of creating and implementing policies in several areas of society. This work demonstrates that Brazilian federalism is marked by clientelistic relationships with rugosities in policies from previous centuries and requires improved discussions regarding municipal and intergovernmental administration practices.