The purpose of this article was to discuss the political actions of the Ministry of Sports in the fields of sports and leisure. For this purpose, a document research was performed, followed by analysis of the content of legislation and documents that govern the policies of the Ministry of Sports. Three main categories emerged in this analysis: management model, concept of social law and channels of participation. The results indicated that public policies the political actions approach managerial public management, considering social rights as services to be rendered by the State. Furthermore, the participation of civil society only occurred in an institutionalized manner through the National Council of Sport and the National Conferences of Sport (CNEs -Conferências Nacionais de Esporte). Ambiguously, actions were also identified that promoted a societal view, expanding the understanding of leisure and affirming it as a social right. However, in recent years these actions have been subsumed by the managerial view.
Leisure; Sport; Social rights; Participation