Consulting Engineering Firms

intermediaries in the management of the housing policy in São Paulo

Abstract

The article presents the action of intermediaries, Consulting Engineering firms, in the management of housing policy operated in state territory of São Paulo by the CDHU - Companhia de Desenvolvimento Habitacional e Urbano (Housing and Urban Development Company) – CDHU. Acting as outsourced companies in the daily management together with the state agent for over 30 years, such companies supply services to the government in programs and projects, performing activities concerning the administration and control of the design, feasibility, implementation and operation of these projects, not committed to direct production processes but to those of design, management and regulation. Once contracted by the public agent, they act as a kind of “administrative interposer”, which puts them in a position of control over the performance of other subcontractors, conducting execution schedules, charging deadlines, checking products, etc. This text aims to go through the history of these companies, questioning their relationship with this specific sector of public policies, reinforcing their strategies and disputes as intermediaries, legitimacy and capital carriers of various arrangements, for the establishment of a new battle space and social field.