This essay deals with provisions to ensure social goals in the Brazilian Constitution. There are two types of provisions: primary social provisions, i.e., provisions resulting from devices that require the promotion of social goals (finalistic) or the adoption of specific means to promote them (instrumental) and secondary social provisions, i.e., provisions that penalize the lack of promotion of the purposes or the lack of adoption of specific measures to promote them. In addition to examining the kinds of provisions that ensure social goals, the article also investigates the issues related to the interpretation, application and effectiveness of them in the Brazilian scenario. The interpretive problems relate to the different ways through which the provisions can be understood. These interpretive problems are also related to implementation problems, i.e., problems related to the effective application of the rules to specific cases. The conclusion, therefore, involves the recognition of the lack of effectiveness of provisions to ensure social goals. For this, it also gives examples of case law that support the criticism of the lack of effectiveness of provisions to ensure social goals.