Lula and Dilma governments in terms of social security and access to higher education

ABSTRACT The article analyzes the social policies developed in Brazil by the Lula and Dilma governments (2003-2016). The focus is the Social Security and the access to higher education policies, presented and analyzed in four parts. The first is dedicated to the Bolsa Família Program, considered the flagship of PT’s social programs. The second part deals with Social Security and the policy of valorization of the minimum wage; the third examines aspects of Health and the Unified Health System (SUS) and the fourth addresses the policy of access to higher education. It is concluded that the social policies carried out by the Lula and Dilma governments have a twofold character. On the one hand, they have undoubtedly been a step forward, improving living and reproductive conditions in the poorest parts of the country, especially because of the Bolsa Família Program, the valuation of the minimum wage and, to a smaller part, access to education. On the other hand, it can be seen that the path or instruments chosen for this improvement was income or wages, and the secular structures that generate poverty and inequality in the country are generally unchanged. At the same time, such governments were decisive in consolidating the private sector in social policy areas, inflating the pressure for privatization that will tend to intensify in the coming years.