A atuação de ONGs internacionais na contemporaneidade: percepções sobre a cooperação católica italiana para o desenvolvimento social em Foz do Iguaçu

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the performance of Italian Catholic NGOs in social development of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in the current context of international economic crisis and recurrent scandals in Brazil within the third sector entities. With the performance of neoliberal policies around the world, the proliferation of Non-Governmental Organizations NGOs proved as a viable alternative to fill the gaps left in the guidelines that States and international organizations are not effective in carrying out the most appropriate ways since the benefits of public policies do not meet all the social demand, generating an excluded population and the growing economic and social inequality. From the analyzes and discussions so far, it appears that the mode of production has a direct influence on social relations and organizations through economic and political factors, confirming the hypothesis that the shape and action of NGOs are products of a historical singularity, as a form of participation and social control developed in the context of operationalization of neoliberal policies, whose historical function is not yet well defined. This generates a field of contradictory actions, given that they are sometimes accused of being at the service of the predominant social order and weaken social movements by offering palliative measures, but otherwise appears as entities with greater potential for adaptation and survival in the current system. In the context of performance of our object of analysis, we observed in the interviews that the experience of work done by Italian Catholic NGOs in Foz do Iguaçu seeks to strengthen an economic cooperation based on pacts and technical cooperation, these in time apparently did not focus only on the financial results, but the higher systemic interest, being a viable alternative of intermediation and strengthening of local public policies.