Governance mechanisms and the institutional design of the Health Secretariat in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil

In this article, we outline the discussions about the mechanisms of governance and public administration taking into account the main political and economic schools of thought which affect the decisions taken by elected and public bodies. We discuss the pendulum-style approach of the reforms and the degree of minimization of the Weberian thesis on rational bureaucracy. Taking into account conceptual aspects and the trajectory of the debate on a new form of public governance and the 1995 State of Brazil reforms, we analyzed the institutional design of the Municipal Health Secretariat in Rio de Janeiro after the reforms were adopted, based on a social organizational model. We also took into account regulatory capacity and the sustainability of the governmental schools.