Política de austeridade fiscal e ataques ao benéfico de prestação de continuada

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between fiscal austerity policies and the weakening of social security in Brazil, focusing on the cash benefit “Benefício de Prestação Continuada” (BPC). It argues that fiscal adjustment measures implemented since the 2010s under the rhetoric of budgetary responsibility have progressively restricted the social rights guaranteed by the 1988 Constitution. Based on José Paulo Netto’s theoretical framework on monopolist capitalism and critical perspectives on state financialization, the research employs a deductive method through normative, historical, and documentary analysis. Sources include legislation, court decisions, and official reports concerning the BPC and fiscal policies. The findings indicate that austerity measures, by prioritizing public debt payments and reducing social spending, contradict the constitutional principle of human dignity and undermine the redistributive logic of social security. The study concludes that fiscal austerity is not an economic necessity but a political mechanism for preserving structural inequalities and reflects the capture of the state by financial capital interests.