The first instance of Social Justice: Invisible judicializationand the collapse of social security governance in Brazil

Abstract

The invisible judicialization of Brazil’s social security system is examined as a concrete manifestation of the collapse of public governance in the first administrative instance of the social protection policy. This study aims to critically analyze how institutional disarticulation, exclusionary automation, and the absence of interoperability drive the silent transfer of demands from the National Social Security Institute (INSS) to the judiciary. A qualitative, exploratory, and theoretical-institutional methodology is employed, grounded in documentary research on regulatory frameworks, official reports, and peer-reviewed academic literature. The findings demonstrate that mass judicialization stems from a dysfunctional administrative cycle, characterized by automated denials, lack of human mediation, and fragmented competencies among the INSS, the Attorney General’s Office, the judiciary, and other institutional stakeholders. The main contribution consists of formulating the concept of invisible judicialization as a critical analytical category, offering guidelines for cooperative, inclusive, and ethically digital social security governance aligned with constitutional principles and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.