THE PARADOX OF PIX AMENDMENTS: TRANSPARENCY AND SOCIAL CONTROL FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CRITICAL LEGAL THEORY

Resumo

This article examines the paradox of the PIX Amendments (special transfers) within the contemporary Brazilian budget, through the lens of Critical Legal Theory. It explores how the discourse of debureaucratization and federative autonomy coexists with risks of opacity and the political appropriation of public resources. The main objective is to critically assess the limits of transparency and social accountability in the PIX Amendments, comparing them to the experience of the RP-9 (Secret Budget), and to propose legal and institutional guidelines to strengthen public accountability mechanisms. Methodologically, the study employs documentary and jurisprudential analysis—drawing on the 1988 Federal Constitution, Constitutional Amendment No. 105/2019, ADPF 854/2022, and audit court directives—supplemented by a comprehensive literature review. Findings indicate that the lack of specific allocation criteria, combined with decentralized execution and broad discretion, undermines traceability and social oversight, thereby reconfiguring—but not resolving—the tension between federative autonomy and accountability. The article concludes by advancing several policy and legal recommendations: enhanced proactive transparency with standardized open data; implementation of audit trails; establishment of objective prioritization criteria; institutional strengthening and autonomy of oversight bodies; and the promotion of fiscal education programs fostering meaningful civic participation.