Condicionantes da presença de modelos de prestação de serviços de abastecimento de água e esgotamento sanitário: avaliação comparativa em oito municípios de Minas Gerais

Abstract

The provision of water supply and sanitation services in Brazil is characterized by different management models, including public or private operators and various legal and institutional arrangements. It is known that the historical trajectory of the sanitation policy in the country has not developed in a linear way and the distribution of institutional models does not follow a clear pattern. Currently, according to data from the National Survey of Basic Sanitation 2008, there is a predominance of regional sanitation companies as leading providers of water supply services in the country, while the local government are responsible for managing the sewage in most locations. What led to this situation? What aspects are related to the decision-making process in the choice of institutional models? Why municipalities choose different models, not observing a standard of service in Brazil? Given that institutional models used at different times may help explain past performance of the sector and suggest future directions, this work aims to contribute to the current discussion, exposing the historical context of occurrence of different water and sanitation institutional models and identifying the factors that conditioned their presence. Using qualitative research methodologies and an innovative quali-quantitative technique in Brazil Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) it was promoted in this study a comparative analysis of the factors conditioning the presence of four different institutional models: direct municipal administration, indirect municipal administration (local autarchy), regional company and private company. Eight localities of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were selected as case studies, two representing each institutional model. The results suggest that economic factors (lack of municipal resources for investments and ability to access external resources), political factors (influence of public manager in decision making, political contacts and political ideology), social factors (dissatisfaction with the quality of service, popular resistance to payment of tariffs and lack of popular participation), institutional factors (know-how, quality of the services, distance between the provider and the consumer, the tariff price, and financial and administrative autonomy) and legal factors (contractual and legislative issues) have had a strong influence in the adoption and maintenance of water and sanitation institutional models.