The methodology of the Conflict Mediation program of the Government of the State of Minas Gerais: An experience in Community Mediation

The methodology of the Conflict Mediation program of the Government of the State of Minas Gerais: An experience in Community Mediation

 Ariane Gontijo Lopes Leandro et al (Eds.)

1.  Introduction

 The present work presents the consolidated methodology1 of the Conflict Mediation Program (PMC), developed by the board of the Nucleus for Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts of the Special Coordination for Crime Prevention, an organ of the State Secretariat for Social Defense within the scope of the Government of Minas Gerais. It is a public policy with a territorial and community approach, it aims to undertake conflict mediation actions, socio-legal guidelines, articulation and promotion of community organization, in order to promote human rights and value the social capital of each community. Its dynamics have a participatory, dialogic and innovative character, enabling the opening of new mechanisms of access to social justice and socio-political transformation of people, groups and communities. It works at individual, collective and community levels. The Conflict Mediation Program, breaking with historically demarcated borders and limits, from the methodological improvement arising from its experience for more than 06 years as a public policy, is characterized with centrality by social participation with a focus on the notion of community, in this sense, we evidenced in this practice the experimentation of a new paradigm, that of Community Mediation, as a method of peaceful conflict resolution, developing instruments to minimize social risks, reduce vulnerabilities and combat violence, and has been implemented in regions with high rates of violent crime in the State of Minas Gerais.

 

We will approach the methodological organization chart of the PMC, highlighting the structure of the conceptual central cores and their 4 organic axes: 1) individual service axis, 2) collective service axis, 3) thematic projects axis and 4) institutional projects axis. Through these axes, the demands presented to the PMC by the populations living in urban agglomerations, neighborhoods, towns and slums are organized and met, with regard to issues related to the exercise of citizenship and the guarantee of human rights.

2. The Conflict Mediation Program and the policy for the prevention of crime

Based on Delegated Law 56, Resolution 5210 of December 12, 2002 and supported by the Federal Constitution in its article 144, the proposal for a public policy for the prevention of violence and crime developed by the State Secretariat for Social Defense of Minas Gerais, translates into innovation in the Brazilian public security scenario, configuring the so-called Citizen Public Security, since it is the duty of the State and is also everyone's responsibility. The Special Crime Prevention Coordination (CPEC), an agency in the State of Minas Gerais inserted in the State Secretariat for Social Defense (SEDS)2, created in 2002 by Delegated Law 56 Resolution 5210 of December 12, 2002, aims to plan, implement and manage programs that promote the reduction of crime rates through preventive actions at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

The Conflict Mediation Program (PMC) has the following contribution: logistical structure, material and human resources, and are developed in partnerships with non-governmental organizations3. The crime prevention policy is implemented based on quantitative and qualitative diagnoses produced by the State Government of Minas Gerais in partnership with universities and study and research centers on the phenomenon of crime and violence. In this way, the PMC applies its methodology, providing the communities served with conflict management tools, enabling peaceful solutions that make the human and fundamental rights of citizens prevail. The objective of the PMC, in addition to those already mentioned above, within the Crime Prevention Policy is to prevent risk factors4 and potential and/or concrete conflicts, preventing them from being propellers of violent and criminal actions among the participants involved. The Program is guided by its methodology and by the management guidelines of the crime prevention policy, especially from the local, cultural, organizational contexts and dynamics and within the broad and diverse manifestations of conflicts, violence and criminality found in each community. . By identifying the risk factors experienced by the communities, the PMC builds proposals for transversal participatory actions with local groups, in order to consolidate protection factors based on the principles of mediation, thus reducing the processes of criminalization and violence.

A fundamental factor, when we aim to expose the methodology of the PMC, is its origin and trajectory. The Program emerged from the partnership between the Pólos de Cidadania Program and the State Department of Social Defense, since from 2005, the methodology of the Pólos de Cidadania Program5 the structure of the Government of the State of Minas Gerais was incorporated under the name Programa Mediação de Conflicts.

Pólos is an inter-institutional program based at the UFMG Law School, which aims to combine teaching, research and extension activities, promoting the inclusion and emancipation of groups with a history of exclusion and a trajectory of social risks. Created in the mid-90s, Pólos originated from do dialogue between a group of researchers from the Faculty of Law, with the central objective of understanding the possible reforms of the Judiciary, on the judicialization of conflicts and forms of access to justice, especially understanding the notions of law of residents who lived in localities called favelas and urban agglomerations of Belo Horizonte. Favelas are marked by widespread situations of exclusion and are mostly excluded from formal access to basic and fundamental rights. This group of researchers in contact with these localities formulated a “Project” that they called Nuclei of Mediation and Citizenship (NMC), providing, through this relationship, the creation of a methodology that valued the participation of groups in the consolidation of their rights, in the solution and creating answers to problems and conflicts presented, in order to integrate the different perceptions and the different knowledge involved.

As of 2006, the PMC started to be managed entirely by the State, and over the years they have been consolidating and expanding its methodology and results, reaching the year 2011 with more than 100 thousand assistances in conflict mediation and socio-legal orientations (individual and collective), over 67 thematic projects, hundreds of collectivizations of demands, dozens of community diagnosis actions, among other diverse and complex forms of mobilization, community articulation and promotion of the local network. Currently, the sum of PMC professionals reaches about 200 mediators (board, coordination, managers, supervisors, managers, social technicians and trainees in the areas of Psychology, Law, Social Sciences, Social Work, History, Pedagogy, among others) who by initial and continuing training, and remains qualified to develop the methodology of the PMC, in addition to the daily support developed by monitoring the methodological supervisions of the Program and the constant reflections originated through the methodological meetings that have taken place weekly since 2005 and the various reflections carried out, weekly, through case discussions in each region where the Program.

3. Organizational chart of the methodology of the Mediation Program Conflicts

Using a formulated design6 to dimension the theoretical concepts and foundations of the Conflict Mediation Program, we present the organization chart below (Figure 1), where the key concepts that permeate all the methodology of the Program are identified. The use of the organizational chart takes up previous publications and consolidates reflections that have been discussed for a long time. It contains basic concepts, each of which is interconnected to the others, forming a reading that sustains, integrates and brings coherence to the 4 axes of action (individual axis, collective axis, thematic project axis and institutional project axis) of the Mediation Program. in Conflicts.

 

Figure 1 - Organizational Chart of the Conflict Mediation Program

Source: Conflict Mediation Program (2010: 16).

3.1 Conceptual Core

The Conceptual Nucleus is the founding structure that organizes the concepts of Conflict Mediation Program, with a view to the paradigm of Community Mediation, therefore, the notion of social prevention of violence and crime it is what interconnects the other basic concepts, and 4 basic concepts are identified:

1) Access to rights; 2) Peaceful conflict resolution; 3) Mediation principles and techniques e 4) community organization. Each of these concepts is interconnected, supporting the theories, techniques and instruments implemented through the 4 axes of action (individual axis, collective axis, thematic project axis and institutional projects axis) of the Program.

3.1.1 Social prevention of violence and crime

The reference to the risk factors, already mentioned above, that lead some communities to experience more propensity to the manifestations of violence, criminalization processes and criminality itself, and in contrast to these phenomena, the social prevention of violence and criminality presuppose the creation of protection factors, such as resources favorable to the construction of virtuous cycles of protection, through the valorization of the potentialities and the participation of the community itself, a systemic model identified as the Ecological Model of Public Security is the theoretical contribution that is based on the Conflict Mediation Program.

The Ecological Model perceives social relations in a systemic, broad and complex socio-historical perspective. It is a conceptual tool that allows PMC teams to read the reality together with local communities, helping to identify the dilemmas faced. In this sense, the risk factors that make the region vulnerable to the emergence of violence and criminality begin to be perceived and recognized, thus obtaining concrete intervention conditions and outlining new ways of dealing with conflicts in order to strengthen the protective factors.

3.1.2 Access to rights

It can be said that favoring access to fundamental rights and guarantees makes it possible to strengthen protective factors in communities and regions marked by poverty, violence and exclusion. In the words of Gustin (2005), one of the creators of the methodology adopted by the Conflict Mediation Program believes,

(…) an effective methodology for building social and human capital to minimize violence, including poverty and indigence, could gradually reverse this situation of negative social development. (GUSTIN, 2005: 188)

Access to rights can be understood as a process of/in action, which, through the Program's action, works effectively to achieve autonomy, emancipation and accountability of social groups and local subjects. Social groups and autonomous subjects must be, above all, subjects of rights, for that, with these conditions, they become responsible for their own destinies and assume an active stance towards the social life that surrounds them. This subject of rights, due to the pedagogical process of the performance developed by the PMC, acts in an expanded way as a critical and conscious agent, who fights and claims his rights. The transformations experienced by communities may eventually involve other actors in the struggle for collective rights. In this context of strengthening social and community ties, we clearly perceive the accumulation of social capital and the creation of a virtuous cycle capable of generating protective factors that make communities less vulnerable to the emergence of violence and violence. criminality.

We know, therefore, that the processes of individual and/or community transformations are often slow and gradual. Based on the complexities of the Program's operating contexts, we can say that access to rights is not the transmission of information, or even the translation of Codes and the application of Laws, it is the input to qualified processes to promote reflection and of summoning the wills of people, groups and communities, breaking with traditional paradigms, often absent or even violent, we start from the participation of those assisted as an instrument for building knowledge about rights and citizenship. Access to rights gains a participatory perspective when each actor involved is led to reflect on their condition, on their values ​​and on the established social relationships. In a clear and non-welfare way, os serviced are questioned as to their expectations that the Public Power, with a history of paternalistic action, will solve their problems.

To this end, the citizenship postulated with the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, see being constructed in a procedural way from the participation of citizens, asserting their rights. Gustin apoud Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010) argues that,

The rescue of human rights in places of extreme exclusion (slums) and on the periphery, and even in peripheral countries, requires that the populations of these places be given the status of subjects of their own history, within an edifying and educational process. emancipator. It is necessary to establish a process where people become actors aware of their exclusion and their risks and damages and their possibilities of solution. Only in this way, and exclusively in this way, can adversity be overcome or minimized. (GUSTIN, 2005: 210)

3.1.3 Peaceful conflict resolution

The peaceful resolution of conflicts is linked to the constitutional ideals of consolidation of the Democratic State of Rights postulated in the Preamble of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, promulgated in October 1988, with the following statement:

We, representatives of the Brazilian people, gathered in the National Constituent Assembly, to establish a Democratic State, destined to ensure the exercise of social and individual rights, freedom, security, well-being, development, equality and justice as supreme values ​​of a fraternal, pluralistic and unprejudiced society, founded on social harmony and committed, in the internal and international order, to the peaceful settlement of disputes, we enact, under the protection of God, the following Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. (FEDERAL CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC FEDERATIVE DO BRASIL, 2008: 37, emphasis added)

To understand more about peaceful conflict resolution, it is necessary to understand what conflicts are. Conflicts are historical processes that reveal confrontations, counterpoints or divergences of opinions, goals or interests. These processes are accepted or not, according to the social norms and values ​​of each society. According to the positive view of conflicts, they are seen as elements inherent to human relationships and social organization, constituting an opportunity to stimulate development, growth, reflection and ripening. Second Birth and El Sayed apoud Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010),

Conflict is a source of new ideas, which can lead to open discussions on certain subjects, which is positive, as it allows the expression and exploration of different points of view, interests and values. (BIRTH; EL SAYED, 2002: 47).

In this sense, when we locate conflicts in the Brazilian scenario, we know, according to DaMatta (1997), that they were not always recognized by public authorities and by the society that had formed in the country, being currently a dilemma for their conduct, administration or management. The recognition of conflicts according to the author brings to the interpretation of Brazilian culture the most undesirable traits, denoting the rites and hierarchical, contradictory and authoritarian roles of power, especially when we deal here with the resolution of these conflicts, especially as we see them as central to the consolidation of rights. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an adequate management of conflicts, taking into account these socio-historical aspects and processes, and it is in this scenario that the paradigm of Community Mediation, as mentioned above, emerges as a conceptual apparatus that intends to favor the peaceful resolution of conflicts, in order to generate personal, community and social growth. The idea da mediation is to conduct dialogue and open channels for the expression of affections, values ​​and interests, enabling those involved to recover the causes or origins of conflicts, in a personal and social way. Dealing with the diffusion of new paradigms to be appropriated by social groups that, in a dialogic way, foster evaluative networks capable of questioning historically hierarchical social norms, seeking new answers, distinct from violent manifestations, cultures with a litigious focus and the traditional forms of solution to the conflicts.

3.1.4 Mediation principles and techniques

In order to present the principles and techniques of mediation, it will be necessary to explain the definitions of the concept of mediation. Therefore, we must say that the idea of ​​mediation has historical origins even before the Old Testament, its path and existence have always been of assistance to people in conducting individual and social behaviors. We know that different cultures, always used mediation as a practice to resolve conflicts between peoples and nations. Over the centuries, and especially with the advent of the Modern State, mediation has been incorporated as an institutional method of conflict resolution, being experimented with as a method of extrajudicial conflict resolution in the 1995th century from the Harvard School onwards. Its concepts are broad and diverse, there are different currents that develop theories about the concept and its application, whatever the context, we understand that mediation is much more than an institutional procedure of conflict resolution, it is, above all, a vision of paradigm on social relations, but we will use, based on Vezzulla (XNUMX), a definition that includes the understanding of mediation adopted by the Conflict Mediation Program, in the words of the author:

Mediation is a non-adversarial conflict resolution technique that, without imposing sentences or reports and with a duly trained professional, helps the parties find their true interests and preserve them in a creative agreement where both parties win. (VEZZULLA, 1995: 15)

Based on the organizational chart above (Figure 1), the principles and techniques of mediation guide all the Program's axes of action, and in all these interventions, the mediators' view will also have the same theoretical guide. We observed that the principles of mediation primarily reveal the identity of the Conflict Mediation Program, allowing the work carried out to be differentiated from other actions, projects, programs and other public policies. In this way, the principles highlighted here work as methodological connectors for the actions developed by the Program, maintaining institutional coherence and acting as guides for the teams, supervision and coordination. Before presenting each of these principles, it is important to make it clear that we have chosen some basic principles within the conceptual range of mediation at the international level, therefore, the proposal is not to exhaust a theoretical discussion on the bases of mediation, nor to address all the principles that underlie it. mediation, but to shed light on the existence of these principles in the practice and experience of the PMC.

As analyzed in Conflict Mediation Program (2009) and Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010), it is also worth mentioning that these principles are not the exclusive property of mediation, when we think about its method, we know that mediation is the responsible for grouping these principles in their methodological integrality, but which are concepts used alone or in subgroups in other contexts and practices within the humanities and social sciences. Furthermore, the objective here is not to discuss each principle and concept in depth, but only to allow a perception of the integration that the following references promote for the methodology of the Program.

1. Volunteering / Freedom of the involved

The work developed by the Conflict Mediation Program is guided by the voluntary adhesion of social groups, a process in which people choose the appropriate instrument within the axes of the Program or even if they want to be assisted there, to deal with the issue raised, a problem experienced or even the conflicts presented. If the person accepts, the work developed will be continuously guided by this principle of freedom between the parties, and during the methodological development of the work, each involved will be able to make decisions about the directions to be taken in relation to the presented demand, always based on the promotion and guarantee of human rights. In case the person does not accept the work developed by the program, it is certainly the institutional task of the same to indicate the possibilities external to the proposed space, be it the Judiciary or other public policies of the Executive Branch and NGOs in general. (Dispute Mediation Program, 2009; Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program, 2010)

2. Dialogue

The main work tool used by the Program is the dialog. In all of the PMC's axes of action, dialogue is considered the instrument used to promote reflection and transformation of social relations. According to Leandro; Cross apoud Six (2007) dialogue will provide the possible ways in the management of conflicts, it is from the true and sincere dialogue between social groups that we can aim for justice and problem solving, opening opportunities for people to appropriate the enunciated discourses, and based on them, agree on new ways of solving the conflicts.

3. Cooperation

Cooperation for the PMC can be understood as the rupture of rigid positions, highlighting the real interests of people and social groups, which, based on the construction of joint solutions between those involved in a given situation or conflict, intends to obtain a cooperative action, highlighting the individual wills and adding to interpersonal interests and needs and collective.

4. Restoration of relations

As highlighted in Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010), the “restoration of relationships” aims to restore dialogue between people and restore broken relationships, whether between individuals, groups or institutions, even if the objective is not to restore ties, the proposal is to favor dialogue and cooperation, rescuing the rupture trajectory, making positive to go beyond the positions and reach the interests that gave rise to a given conflict. The restoration of relations in the PMC takes place in the mediation procedure itself and in all its axes of action, above all, its use in the formulation of projects and in cases of guidance, in collective action, in community organization and in the strengthening of the network .

5. accountability

According to the reflections postulated in the Conflict Mediation Program (2009), the term “responsibility” refers to the duties and obligations linked to a given action. Based on legal theory, the person who deliberates is responsible, because, when carrying out a conduct, one must assume the results and processes guided by their own behavior. When dealing with responsibilities, we must understand accountability for people and social groups who have, in addition to the full capacity to assume the consequences of their actions, but who are, in fact, subjects of rights. Within the scope of action of the PMC, when dealing with accountability, it is necessary to add the dimension of human rights and fundamental guarantees. For Gustin (1999:31), this limit would define the indispensable and minimum capacity for attributing responsibility to people. Taking this idea to the dimension of a participatory democracy, in which rights must be exercised, as they are not always given to individuals in an extended way, we realize that the sphere of responsibility is still widening. more.

As discussed in Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010), we understand accountability as a goal with high transformative potential, as people and social groups that access the PMC, expecting to acquire a “good or response from the State”, are faced with another proposal, that of participation, for that, we know that it will also be necessary to break with this clientelist and patrimonialist tradition acquired historically in the formation of policies in the Brazilian case, where a third party decides and solves the problems and anxieties of the population.

6. Emancipation

In the analyzes carried out in the Conflict Mediation Program (2009) and Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010) we noticed some similarities between the concepts of empowerment apoud Baquero (2007) and emancipation apoud Gustin (1999), but we are aware of his distinctions, we will leave the discussions on empowerment to the first author. For this text we will focus on emancipation based on the second author, Gustin (1999) presents emancipation as the community's ability to dialogue, influence, deliberate and intervene in its own decisions and also in other institutional actors, whether public or private institutions, realizing to act as a social actor capable of solving their problems, based on organizational and solidarity relationships, minimizing the effects caused by economic and social damage. In the author's words, emancipation is:

Capacity for permanent reassessment of the social, political, cultural and economic structures of its surroundings, with the purpose of expanding the legal-democratic conditions of its community and of deepening the organization and associativism with the objective of putting political conditions into effect through essential changes in the life of that society for its effective inclusion in the broader social context. (GUSTIN, 1999: 22)

In the development of the PMC's axes of action, the aim is to encourage the community to participate in spaces for discussion around the main problems experienced in the reality of people and social groups. In this way, the promotion of citizenship and emancipation constitutes a process to be developed in the medium and long term, as it involves behavioral, cultural and social changes of individuals and collectivities. The PMC methodology seeks to encompass the promotion of reflection on the lived reality, stimulating decision-making, encouraging the experience of democracy, among other actions. Guidance on rights and duties are also ways to stimulate emancipation, opening up possibilities and options for action, facing relationships of dependence, submission, alienation, oppression, domination, especially when dealing with gender relations.

7. Empowerment

According to the analysis carried out in the Conflict Mediation Program (2009), we found Lawson apoud Baquero (2007) defining empowerment as a process through which people, organizations and communities acquire social control over issues of their interests. The authors understand empowerment as a process and a result, emerging from a process of social action, in which individuals take possession of their own lives, through interactivity with other individuals, generating critical thinking in relation to social reality, favoring the construction of personal capacity. , community and social, enabling the transformation of social power relations. According to the literal words of Baquero (2007),

Empowerment, as a category, permeates notions of democracy, human rights and participation, but is not limited to these. It is more than working at a conceptual level, it involves acting, implying processes of reflection on action, aiming at an awareness of factors of different orders – economic, political and cultural – that shape reality, affecting the subject. (BAQUERO, 2007: 142)

Within the different dimensions that the concept encompasses, for the PMC we use its individual, interpersonal, collective and community dimensions, all perspectives on the notion of empowerment must consider the characteristics of Community Mediation, which according to Baquero (2007), deals in a general review of people in relation to access to rights and forms of conflict resolution, in the words of the author,

Community empowerment is aimed at developing the training of disadvantaged groups to articulate interests and community participation, aiming at the full achievement of citizenship rights, the defense of their rights and influence in State actions. (…) In the context of the community empowerment process, it is essential to engage the population in understanding the problems that affect their living conditions, in discussing alternative solutions, in defining priorities and in deciding on strategies for implementing programs. , its monitoring and evaluation. It is about developing competence to act politically and to act on the factors that affect the quality of your life. It is essential that the community participate as a subject, and not as an object, in this process. Thus, it is not a matter of mere participation, reduced to a physical presence in assemblies, to achieve previously established goals. (BAQUERO, 2007: 141)

7. Autonomy

According to the discussions carried out in the Conflict Mediation Program (2009), we can say, etymologically, that the word autonomy comes from the Greek, where “autos” means a; “nomos” means rule or law, and was used to designate the Greek city-states that claimed to be autonomous, that is, they were governed by their own laws and were not subject to the judgment of other cities, therefore, they were independent and self-governing. Later, the term was adopted to designate man, since he is the only being in nature capable of obtaining autonomy, even if sometimes moved by irrational impulses, he is capable of deliberate

about their actions and be guided differently by external conditions or even internal desires, according to their rationality. Man is a being of freedom, as he is free from the causal laws of nature and capable of self-government, governed by laws and rules. It is important to emphasize that this tradition, based on the postulates of the Ancient World and mainly based on the classics of Modern Theory, are structurally organized in the literal version of “man”, therefore, any discussions that deal with “woman”, when we think of autonomy postulated very lately, by authors, women and feminists, such as Pateman (1993). In this sense, the concept of autonomy, of self-government, must be governed on the basis of gender equity. Gustin (1999) highlights people and the development of autonomy as the capacity

(…) to make their own choices to formulate personal goals based on convictions and to define more adequate strategies to achieve them. In more restricted terms, the limit of autonomy would be equivalent to the person's or group's capacity for action and intervention on the conditions of their way of life. (GUSTIN, 1999: 31).

For the PMC, according to studies carried out in the Conflict Mediation Program (2009), being autonomous is also the ability to recognize that others are also subjects of rights, and that this is a primordial need of people and social groups. This is because being autonomous involves a social dimension. Autonomy for Gustin (1999) deals with the social nature, where the individual can only learn it in his dialogic interaction with others. to the author apoud Habermas argues that “the capacity for autonomy is built from the emergence of new identities, arising from conflictive interactions, which become effective when they harmonize with traditional identities, overcoming them” (GUSTIN, 1999: 32). Still according to the author apoud Habermas and Taylor “the condition of autonomy gives the individual the ability to transcend a topical vision of the community and the limits of a language and a particular conceptual structure through their capacity for learning, creativity and interaction”. (GUSTIN, 1999: 32)

The PMC works to foster individual autonomy in all areas of its activities. Critical reflection takes place in the sense that he builds solutions for his demand and recognizes in the other as an autonomous subject, bearer of rights and capable of creating solutions to the issue that affects them, promoting solutions to conflicts. Mediation and other interventions proposed by the Program do not constitute an imposing process and it is not up to the technical teams to decide or make suggestions as to the directions that those involved should take. THE autonomy constitutes a fundamental part of community and social development, and can be conceptualized as the ability to criticize, decide and act in the face of dilemmas faced or the ability demonstrated by individuals or groups to act consciously and responsibly for their own destiny.

3.1.5 Community organization

Community organization is performed by the PMC in the actions carried out with the network or local community, as all the Program's axes of action are articulated with each other, and the conceptual understanding that in order to generate emancipation, accountability, autonomy, cooperation, it is necessary to encourage networking and working together with people and social groups in the communities.

To this end, the notion of community organization is based on social participation, and is used in the Conflict Mediation Program from some concepts of the collective action of people or social groups, such as: social capital, mixed social networks, action research and social mobilization. Each one of these concepts is interconnected, and they are methodologically defined by the constitution of social capital as one of the ways to minimize the effects of social exclusion and poverty.

The concept of capital is structuring in the elaboration of the methodology of the Program since its origin, we will make a brief elucidation of it in order to demonstrate its importance when dealing with community organization. Gustin (2005) understands social capital as “the existence of relationships of solidarity and reliability between individuals, groups and collectives, including the capacity for community mobilization and organization, translating a sense of responsibility of the population itself about its paths and about the insertion of each individual”. one in the whole” (GUSTIN, 2005:11). For the author, actions and claims must occur in an organized, systematic and permanent way in the daily life of social groups and communities, based on the review of social practices, favoring social mobilization and popular organization, guaranteeing citizenship. Another definition adopted, and mentioned in the Revista Entremeios of the PMC, according to Franco apoud Leandro, will say that social capital finds a favorable field for accumulation When,

(…) as attitudes of autonomy materialize in a non-hierarchical form of human relationships and, as democratic attitudes correspond to non-autocratic modes of conflict regulation, marked by the horizontalization of relationships, social capital finds a favorable field for their production, accumulation and reproduction. (FRANCO apud LEANDRO, 2007: 43)

The PMC allows us to analyze and emphasize that the Public Power assumes a central role as an arena for the convergence of social demands, as a mobilizer of social capital, defends Galgani (2007). For the author, the public power can contribute to the promotion and strengthening of social relations based on trust and reciprocity, in order to stimulate the participation of people and groups, and in their articulation in the solution of shared problems and in the defense of the collective interest.

Putnam (1996), presents the concept of social capital, dealing with the analysis of the result of a research work started in 1970, lasting 20 years, and which had as reference the regions of Italy between the north and south, discussed the wide diversity existing in the peninsula, aiming to carry out an investigation regarding the performance of institutions and their adaptations to their social context. To this end, the author carried out a follow-up of the administrative changes in Italy caused by the political reform in the early 70s, in a comparative analysis of the decision processes adopted politically in each of the regions surveyed by the author, where important differences between these regions. The author mentions that empirical research carried out in a broad context has confirmed that norms and networks of civic engagement, that is, the presence of social capital, can improve education, reduce poverty, control crime, promote economic development, promote better governments and even reduce mortality rates, in the words of the author,

Social capital, in addition to constituting a public good, concerns characteristics of social organization, such as trust, norms and systems, which contribute to increasing the efficiency of society, facilitating coordinated actions. (PUTNAM, 1996: 177)

The Conflict Mediation Program, implemented in communities such as towns, slums, agglomerates and outlying neighborhoods, understands that community participation happens in a unique way, demonstrating above all the forms of organization of local social capital. Thus, the pre-existing social capital in each community must be recognized through the specific conception of its formation, given the variations of each reality. In this sense, we know that there are several sources of verification of the constitution of social capital, from actions that circumscribe a more individual scope to collective actions. Therefore, in order to identify social capital, it is necessary to know and identify the representative groups in each region, carrying out the Community Organizational Diagnosis. The PMC, in general, aims to favor the mobilization and strengthening of these groups through research, diagnoses and through the relationships established in each reality, provoking reflections on community participation and reducing the dilemmas of collective action.

According to the Conflict Mediation Program (2010), we emphasize that the time of existence of the Conflict Mediation Program in these regions is recent, so the understanding of the importance of involving communities in the construction of a policy and in the consolidation and constitution of social capital it happens gradually, overcoming a history of generalized inequalities, low civic participation, impunity, frustrations and the absence of public and material goods in relation to the role of the State.

A mixed social network is conceived by the PMC as an important way of intervening with communities, presenting ways of associating and acting between people, groups and entities. The idea of ​​network can be defined, given its formal aspect, as a set of interconnected points, we can talk about computer networks, networking, social network, among others. The notion of network is used to designate or qualify systems, structures or organizational designs that are characterized by a large number of elements, but with some connection between them. (Martin, 2003)

According to an analysis in the Conflict Mediation Program (2010), we cannot call a network any work done in a group or through an organizational structure. The network has a fundamental attribute maintained by a horizontal relationship dynamic, that is to say that decisions are not taken in a hierarchical way. In this dynamics of the network, the relationship is horizontal and not hierarchical, decisions are taken by the participants of the network based on a consensus among themselves, presenting characteristics such as: a) requiring that the participants be linked around a common goal; b) that is open always to new relationships with other individuals and participants in other groups; c) whatever decentralized, where decisions are made in a participatory manner among those involved; and d) that she has a self-organization, that is, the absence of hierarchy does not mean that the network works without obeying the rules and principles established by those involved in it. The concept of a network is of paramount importance in the construction of a participatory democracy, guaranteeing space for decisions to be taken based on the consensus between political actors of a State.

The PMC develops its role in promoting the articulation between the entities and the consolidation of partnerships, either through regular spaces already established or even in the consolidation of new network spaces. Program entry nose communities is only made possible through leaders and entities already active in the region, as they are the ones, as explained above, that help to legitimize the work with the community.

The third important concept of community organization is the proposal of the method of action research, which is constituted from the establishment of “a space for dialogue where the actors involved participate in the resolution of problems, with differentiated knowledge, proposing solutions and learning in action” (THIOLLENT apud Conflict Mediation Program, 2009: 49/50). For the Conflict Mediation Program, the action research methodology is adopted, according to the precepts of the Pólos program, integrating theory and social practice, structured in the concepts of citizenship, subjectivity and emancipation. It is about investigating social situations, which involve people, social organisms, specific norms and criteria and problems of different natures. The research aims are both theoretical and practical: the increase in knowledge of the situations should allow the equation of real community problems and the expansion of the capacities for transforming contexts or behaviors. (Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program, 2010)

For the PMC, doubt and inquiry are essential tools of the theoretical framework of mediation, assumed by its professionals, with the attitude of apprentices and investigators. The gaze of the “mediator” always remains focused on the construction of systemic knowledge, aiming to apprehend the connections established in the context of interpersonal, intergroup or interinstitutional relationships; analyzing a knowledge that is not given, but that is part of the appreciation and implication of each actor involved in reality .

The team of professionals (mediators, technicians and interns) who work at the PMC, as well as the researchers, play a role of facilitators and articulators, seeking to value local potential and leading those involved to reflect on the resolution of demands, whatever they may be. , based on creative and appropriate searches and solutions to the presented dilemmas.

Another concept of community organization is the concept of social mobilization, being essential, as people and social groups seek effective participatory democracy, which, in the definition of Mafra (2006), can be understood as:

"the active participation of a mobilized civil society in which the subjects, as participants in a public debate, seek to delimit the rules that regulate collective life through an effective practice of communication, focused on the understanding".

Social mobilization according to Henriques apud Conflict Mediation program (2009) can be understood as “the gathering of subjects who intend to solve problems and transform reality, in relation to a cause that can be considered of public interest” (HENRIQUES apud Conflict Mediation Program , 2009: 53)

4. Axes of action of the Mediation Program Conflicts

The Conflict Mediation Program is structured in 04 axes of action: 1) Individual Assistance Axis, 2) Collective Assistance, 3) Thematic Projects and 4) Institutional projects, let's see how each axis is organized below:

4.1 Individual Service Axis

In the Individual Assistance Axis, the performance is carried out through individual consultations7 of mediation and/or guidance. These are carried out by an interdisciplinary duo and usually take place in the physical space of the PMC. In exceptional cases, the service may take place in another location, such as institutions of the local network or community associations, to facilitate access for people who, for reasons of mobility difficulties or even for other reasons arising from the demarcation of the territory, cannot circulate in the community. , cannot directly access the PMC space. Thus, the Individual Assistance Axis is organized according to the flowchart presented below (Figures 2 and 3).

 Figure 2

Source: Conflict Mediation Program (2010:33)

Figure 3

The main way to start the calls is through the prior scheduling of time. Scheduling is scheduled, however, cases that are considered emergency, such as cases in which threats appear or some situation that presents imminent risk, are dealt with quickly, when the Program is activated, and in most cases they are not cases. for mediation itself. As the PMC is located in Crime Prevention Centers, which are locally based, the team cannot ignore the different realities, between violence and violation of rights, that are presented to the Program. In this way, to pay attention to such emergencies, the teams establish partnerships with specialized networks to deal with the various types of violence presented, developing an integrated and shared action. We move on to the steps and steps adopted by the PMC methodology, as shown in Figure 3 above.

4.1.1 Reception

According to the analysis in the Conflict Mediation Program (2010), reception is understood as the moment when the person arrives at the Program, reports his case, presenting his demand, in which the construction of bonds of trust with the team of mediators begins. . At the moment of reception, listening is more important than any information that can be transmitted to that person, because, most of the time, they are very fragile, indecisive and in front of people who, for the moment, are strange to them, but who somehow she considers her as someone who can help her at that moment. This is because the Program values ​​the value of the human person and demonstrates respect in relation to the issues brought.

It is during the reception that the team makes a brief presentation of the policy and the Conflict Mediation Program. Often, this moment of presentation and explanation comes after listening to the demand, because, often, people arrive very anxious and, as soon as they enter the service room, they start their reports. After this first hearing and the brief presentation of the PMC and conflict resolution methods, the duo schedules a new appointment. During this interval, the case is shared with the rest of the team, in order to structure the best way of conducting it, as well as providing a time for reflection and understanding on the part of the person assisted about the Program and their interest in the work methodology developed.

This stage can last for more than one appointment, depending on people's availability. It is also verified, in this process, if the demand is about guidance or mediation, as well as the interest of people to participate in this method.

In the case of mediation, the team, after discussing cases and accepting the first party, invites the other party involved in the conflict to attend the PMC so that they can be welcomed in the same way. It should be noted that for mediation to exist, openness to dialogue and a minimum of equity of power between those involved in the conflict are necessary. This is not possible in cases where there is violence, and it is up to the team to develop other methods, which are not applied through mediation, they are cases of guidance, which must be sensitized, forwarded and followed up with the demand with specialized networks. The most frequent cases are related to domestic and family violence against women, and the articulation of the PMC with organs of the network to combat violence against women is essential. This is a working guideline of the Program, which supports the fight against all forms of violence and violation of human rights, especially of women, young people, children and the elderly. In general, as mentioned above, there are also emergency demands, which bring with them histories of violence and abuse of power that impede the mediation procedure and imply access to the network for possible referrals, so that the person is directed to specialized care. In these cases, the team investigates the history of the demand, assesses the risks and possible consequences in decision-making, and then forwards and monitors the case, making contact with the network equipment and especially with the person served.

4.1.2 Discussion of cases

According to the formulations in Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010), the case discussion is a working meeting in which the team analyzes and discusses all demands, both individual and collective, as well as establishing hypotheses and interventions. This step occurs weekly or, depending on the complexity involved, immediately after the service. At that moment, all members of the mediator team can contribute with questions, methodological analysis and problematizations until then not perceived by the couple who performed the reception. At this meeting, it is possible to make a first assessment of the case, with regard to the possibility of mediation or the appropriateness of guidance. In addition, the team must also assess which professionals will conduct the next consultations. It is noteworthy that, even in the case where it is subject to mediation, it is up to those assisted to choose or not the process, respecting in most cases one of the mediators who performed the service. It is also in this discussion that the peculiarities of the case are studied, it is verified whether it goes beyond the interpersonal sphere, the possible impacts on the community and on the local dynamics of violence and crime are evaluated, it is verified whether the risk factors present in the demands, and can generate, in some situations, more collective.

4.1.3 Orientation

According to the PMC methodology described in Mediation and Citizenship: Conflict Mediation Program (2010), the orientation process occurs when the person seeks clarification about a situation, about how to access a certain service and rights, how to deal with situations of violation of rights or a conflict, among others. The guidelines performed by the team bring with them the principles that underlie mediation, in order to promote autonomy, emancipation, empowerment and accountability in the search for rights and the exercise of citizenship. Thus, no guidance developed by the PMC methodology is pure and simple, however objective the question may be. The orientations can happen in only one attendance, as well as they can unfold in several attendances to the same person or people.

It is also possible to develop the orientation method when the person assisted ( a second people involved No. conflict) not choose by the process de mediation, requesting information and/or referrals to the partner network. In this way, the team PMC clarifies doubts about other dispute resolution procedures, etc. In addition, the Program directs people to free care services, preferably from public services, the judiciary, the public defender's office, the public prosecutor or another partner of the local partner network. In some cases, the understanding and interest that the person served has in the Conflict Mediation Program are discussed, thus avoiding the inappropriate use of the service. It is also noteworthy that the members of the PMC team, responsible for the guidance to those people who sought the PMC, will not be the same within the mediation process, when applicable, because the people of the team who provide the guidance should not participate in the mediation process, as the orientation is part of the methodology of the PMC, but not of the procedure of mediation.

4.1.4 Mediation

As already mentioned above, for the Conflict Mediation Program, mediation helps people in the form of choice regarding decision-making and conflict resolution, through dialogue and the assistance of a multi-party third party. According to the Program's methodology, and in line with the publications of the Conflict Mediation Program (2007; 2009; 2010), the stages of mediation are addressed in this method in order to qualify the procedure performed by the PMC. It is noteworthy that the phases described below do not happen in a linear way and more than one phase can occur in the same service, so the explanation below has didactic purposes, we know how complex conflicts are, and we cannot make this procedure rigid, it is necessary to maintain its dynamics and plasticity, according to each case and/or situation. The phases, according to Figure 3, are:

1. pre-mediation
2. Opening of the joint service
3. Investigation
4. Agenda
5. creating options
6. Options assessment
7. Choice of options
8. Solution

4.2 Collective Service Axis

The objective of this axis is to attend to cases in which collective interests prevail and which require adaptations to the mediation or guidance process, as it contains broad issues that deal with collectivities. It is understood, however, that it is not just the collective nature of the demand that causes the case to be classified in such a way. By collective case, it is understood as the demands for mediation or guidance brought by the community, either through community leadership or by other community actors, in which mediation techniques and their principles are used. (Conflict Mediation Program, 2009: 81).

We are aware of the immense challenges posed to this axis, the PMC seeks to deconstruct the initial understanding of those assisted that the problems present themselves exclusively in the individual or interpersonal sphere. It is important to promote the recognition that the problem considered individual or interpersonal interferes in the lives of others and that decisions could not always come from the individual. To change the dynamics of the conflict, a joint and shared analysis of a group of residents is required, who need to identify a common objective.

The Program presents to the person assisted, the proposal to assist them in the search for a solution or management of the presented demand, involving them as an active and active participant, so that the expected objective is achieved. In this sense, it is important to emphasize that the methodology follows a basic structure, composed of principles and elements that must be observed in a collective case, but there is no way to propose a closed, unique and linear form, since talking about collectivity means preparing oneself to deal with diversity, where the creativity of teams is constantly required. (Conflict Mediation Program, 2009: 87). Working in the collective scope presupposes dealing with the feeling of belonging to the community, encouraging social participation, fostering the constitution of social capital, empowering people and local community groups for collective cooperation and purposes. associative.

4.2.1 Reception

The reception in this axis occurs in a similar way to the one already described in the individual service axis, with regard to the presentation of the Prevention Policy, the PMC, the service pair, active listening to the demand, building the bond of trust, among others. However, some particularities need to be highlighted. One of them concerns the recognition of the people involved in the demand in question. Thus, when the team is able to identify that the demand brought, sometimes by a single person, involves a greater number of residents, for example, an entire street, they seek to discuss with the person(s) served. (s) the possibility of joining other forces in order to claim and seek a collective solution.

It is necessary that the person or group that raises the issue always considers itself responsible and develops an active attitude towards the reported problem. Here, too, the search for information and the carrying out of some actions will be built between the technical team and the claimants, such as, for example, identifying other people directly affected by the problem and who could, in this way, be invited to the next encounters.

After this process of recognizing the participants, the team will actively listen to the perceptions of each of those involved about the conflict and will work on mobilizing people, as will be discussed later. Based on a greater understanding of the nature of the conflict by the technical team and the claimants, the most appropriate form of intervention will be constructed: mediation or guidance.

4.2.2 Discussion of cases

This is the moment when the team analyzes the case presented and builds possible interventions. By carrying out the case study, it is possible to have a comprehensive view of the issue presented, identify the particularities and common objectives, as well as positions and interests that can unite people directly and indirectly involved with the problem. In collective care, cases can be configured as cases of guidance or mediation.

4.2.3 Orientation

The teams realize that many of the collective demands that reach the PMC are not subject to mediation, but they are about people and/or groups that do not have access or are unaware of their fundamental rights. In this sense, guidance gains space and contributes to fostering citizenship. It can happen in just one service, as well as unfold in several. It is noticed that, in many cases of mediation, guidelines are also necessary that, in the collective scope, bring with them, in most cases, access to rights and/or services such as, for example, the elaboration of statutes and regularization. association documentation. Here too, in the guidelines, all the guiding principles of the other PMC actions are applied.

4.2.4 Mediation

In this axis, the pre-mediation, opening of joint assistance, investigation, agenda, creation, evaluation, choice of options and solution are organized taking into account the collective context in which they are inserted. Among them, we highlight the need to work on issues specific to group dynamics, such as power relations, communication, leadership, group work and co-responsibility.

In this sense, the objective is to expand the dialogues, the understanding of the conflict, the elaboration of satisfactory solutions, the development of solidary actions and the stimulation of participatory forms of communication.

4.3 Thematic Projects Axis

Thematic Projects are actions proposed by the technical teams resulting from the reading of the risk factors and protection factors identified from the insertion with the local communities. Such demands are observed through the reading and analysis of instruments, such as quantitative and qualitative reports, socioeconomic questionnaires, Community Organizational Diagnostics, Community Forums, Local Crime Prevention Plans and reports from managers, leaders and associations locations.

The teams focus on these instruments with the objective of proposing actions communities that want wrap um number specific of families ou target group, to work on the issues that came to the Program. You can say that the Collectivization of Demands are actions of less complexity than the Thematic Projects and generally involve a shorter time for their execution. Meanwhile, Thematic Projects are more detailed and take place in more community meetings. Both follow a similar technical instrument, consisting of the elaboration of an execution project and a logical framework matrix⁸.

4.4 Institutional Projects Axis

The Institutional Projects Axis includes macro actions developed by the board of the Conflict Mediation Program at the state or municipal level, based on the reading of the insertion of the PMC in its various locations.

This Axis comprises broad instruments and actions that encompass many or all of the communities in which the PMC operates, proposing interventions that aim to promote protective factors or guarantee the institutional execution of the activities of the technical teams. Realizing the repetitive incidence of some risk factors in different contexts and locations, an attempt is made to institutionally create common intervention strategies. The actions carried out in this axis consist of constant institutional relationships that are celebrated through legal instruments made available by the State such as agreements, contracts and technical cooperation terms, among others.

5. References

BAQUERO, Marcelo; BAQUERO, Ruth. Bringing the citizen into the public arena: social capital and empowerment in the production of a social democracy in Latin America. REDES, Santa Cruz, v. 12, no. 1, p. 125-150, Jan./April 2007.

DAMATTA, Robert. Carnivals, rogues and heroes: for a sociology of the Brazilian dilemma. 6th ed. Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, 1997.

MINE GOVERNMENT. Delegated Law 56 - Resolution 5210 of December 12, 2002.

GUSTIN, MBS Rescue of human rights in adverse situations in peripheral countries. Journal of the Faculty of Law, Federal University of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte. no. 47, 2005.

MINE MANAGEMENT. Social Crime Prevention: The experience of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, 2009.

HENRIQUES, MS (org.), BRAGA, CS, BRANDÃO, DC and S. & MAFRA, RL M.

Communication and Social Mobilization Strategies. Pará de Minas: Genesis, 2002. HENRIQUES, MS Communication and Social Mobilization in the practice of community policing. Belo Horizonte: Authentic, 2010.

LEANDRO, Ariane Gontijo Lopes; CRUZ, Giselle Fernandes Corrêa da. Conflict Mediation Program of the Minas Gerais State Department of Social Defense: outlining a methodology in individual and community mediation. In: CASELLA, Paulo Borba; SOUZA, Luciane Moessa de (Coord.). Conflict Mediation: new paradigm of access to justice. Belo Horizonte: Forum, 2009, p. 201-233.

LUCIANE MOESSA DE (Coord.). Conflict Mediation: new paradigm of access to justice. Belo Horizonte: Forum, 2009, p. 201-233.

MEDIATION AND CITIZENSHIP: Conflict Mediation Program. Concepts Technical Commission (org.). Belo Horizonte: Arraes Editores, 2010.

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF BRAZIL. Crime and Violence Prevention Guide, 2005.

PATEMAN, Carole. The sexual contract. Rio de Janeiro: Peace and Earth, 1993.

CONFLICT MEDIATION PROGRAM. Belo Horizonte: IUS Editora, Belo Horizonte, 2009.

PUTNAM, Robert D. Community and democracy: the experience of modern Italy. Rio de Janeiro. Getúlio Vargas Foundation. 1996.

ROSENBERG, Marshall B. Nonviolent Communication – techniques to improve personal and professional relationships. Sao Paulo: Agora, 2006.

SALES, LM de M. Justice and conflict mediation🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte: Del Rey. 2004

SIX, JF Dynamics of mediation🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte: Del Rey, 2001.

VEZZULA, Juan Carlos. Mediation theory and practice. Curitiba: Mediation Institute, 1995.

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¹ This article is the result of the critical analysis and systematization of the various texts and publications that have been produced on the methodology of the Conflict Mediation Program over the last 6 years, in addition to this analysis, the text obtained the unique collaboration of the Technical Commission of Concepts of the PMC 2011. We emphasize, therefore, that the reader will be able to delve into specific themes contained in this text through several other publications already carried out, especially the magazine Entremeios published in 2007, and especially the books of the Program published in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 , as indicated in the bibliographic references and throughout this text. Finally, this text fulfills the purpose of consolidating and organizing the methodology of the Conflict Mediation Program, through adapted excerpts and already used in the methodological description of the Program, making a more synthetic, condensed and easy-to-read reference. IN: CONFLICT MEDIATION PROGRAM: an experience of community mediation in the context of public policies. Belo Horizonte: Arraes Editores, 2011. http://www.ijucimg.org.br/projetos/livro_programa_mediacao_conflitos.pdf

2See website: www.seds.mg.gov.br.

³ Currently, SEDS, through CPEC, consolidates a partnership between an OSCIP, called Instituto ELO, see website: www.institutoelo.org.br, and the Conflict Mediation Program has yet another partnership, with the NGO Centro de Defesa da Cidadania (CDC), see website: www.cdc.org.br .

⁴ “Risk factor is that factor that increases the probability of incidence or negative effects of violence, but does not necessarily determine the incidence of crime and violence. The greater the presence of risk factors, and the smaller the presence of protective factors, the greater the probability of incidence and negative effects of crimes and violence. (…) Protection factor is what reduces the probability of incidence or negative effects of crimes or violence. The greater the presence of protective factors and the smaller the presence of risk factors, the lower the probability of incidence and negative effects of crime and violence.” See MESQUITA NETO, Paulo. Crime and Violence Prevention and Public Security Promotion in Brazil. Ministry of Justice, 2004. Available at http//www.mj.gov.br/services. Accessed in November 2009.

⁵ See website: www.polos.ufmg.br.

⁶ This organization chart was prepared during the management of the Technical Committee on Concepts of the Conflict Mediation Program during 2010, and has already been adopted as a methodological instrument that organizes the concepts and theoretical framework used by the Program. In addition to this organizational chart, the discussion that follows is part of the theoretical production carried out by the Technical Committee on Concepts of the year 2009 and especially the Committee of 2010.

7We emphasize that individual care does not imply the participation of just one person, but is characterized by conflicts of an interpersonal nature, involving a smaller number of people.

8Matrix with objectives, results and activities, their verifiable indicators, means of verification and assumptions, which facilitates the planning and elaboration of the project.