This study explores the evolution of the Green Grants program, run by Brazil´s Ministry
of Environment, as a means for developing the concept of bureaucratic activism. When
the Workers´ Party first took office in 2003, many social movement actors joined the
government, especially in that agency. After 2007, however, most of these activists left
the government. At the same time, the Ministry substituted thousands of temporary
employees for permanent civil servants. Surprisingly, the study found that these public
employees carried forward the environmentalist cause, even when this required
contesting the priorities of superiors. Examining their attitudes and practices leads to a
definition of activism as the proactive pursuit of opportunities to defend contentious
causes. The case study serves to help develop this concept, and to demonstrate that
workers inside bureaucracies can engage in activist behavior. The study also explores the
effects of bureaucratic activism on environmental policy-making in Brazil
