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This study aims to contribute to the development of strategies to support the social control of sanitation actions. The current research is based on experiences of social control strategies related to sanitation and policies in other more consolidated sectors, analyzed here in light of the theories of Raymundo Faoro and other social scientists who study social control and related topics. Findings revealed a growing involvement of the executive in participatory bodies, a lack of infrastructure and subsidies for community participation, a tendency toward the technification of the discourse on public policy, an absence of citizenship education, as well as the fragmentation of public policies. The study concludes that it is essential to prioritize flexible strategies which can be adapted to local contexts; to promote citizen participation; to develop interdisciplinary networks for the implementation of sanitation; and to use methodologies which take into account popular demands and knowledge. Furthermore, it is important to implement a process for the qualitative evaluation of these strategies.