Public organizations in the Amazon ¿self-referential change or adaptation?

Abstract

The governmental institutions and public organizations of the Eastern Amazon in Brazil are immersed in a process of far-reaching transformations, which are mainly being implemented in the public authorities, the municipal institutions, public management and the legal system. This article analyzes whether the process is really one of self-referential change, the result of internal decisions taken by the organizations, or, on the other hand, whether these organizations are merely making the necessary adaptations for them to fulfill their function and their mandate. The contribution made by the systemic postulates of action are restricted to technological issues, and the action needs to be understood from the perspective of the subject. On the basis of a series of case-based «observations», these issues are analyzed within municipal public authorities, and particularly in the realm of public management and citizens' rights.