How to create a Ministry: the co-optation process as a distension mechanism in the relationship between social movements and the State.

This article discusses a little examined process in Brazilian public administration literature: the creation of a Ministry. The mishaps of the constitution of the Special Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality Policies (Seppir) in March 2003 and its implications for public policy design are discussed through the narrative of its creation. Thus, the article examines the reasons for the creation of this ministry as a result of the accommodation of social tensions beyond political coalitions, which impacted public policy. From public documents and interviews with actors with active participation in the process, this paper discusses how the co-optation process allowed the government to accommodate some social tensions it faced. However, the co-optant also suffered changes with the institutionalization of a new place for the construction of public policies to combat racial inequality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]