Sergio Arouca, construtor de institui?§?μes e inovador democr??tico

摘要

The article discusses the trajectory of Sergio Arouca (1941-2003), observing his performance as a public health activist via and within institutions. The analysis of episodes reveals a fertile combination between Arouca’s surprising ability to think in a non-standard way, his charisma, and the presence of people who shared the same values. In some situations, this combination generated democratizing innovations. Examples include the Paul?-nia project in the 1970s, in which Arouca with his team invited the population to participate in the management of health services; the opening of the 8th National Health Conference to the participation of civil society; the installation of democratic management in the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the creation of the Participative Management Department of the Ministry of Health during the first Lula administration.