Participatory Democracy in Brazil and Local Geographies: Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte Compared
European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 83, pp. 19-41, October 2007
23 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2013
Date Written: October 1, 2007
Abstract
This paper presents a comparative evaluation of the participatory budgeting experience in Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte, drawing conclusions with respect to how local circumstances, or geographies, can affect outcomes. The rationale for this geographical approach is that, while the concept of participatory budgeting is now spreading globally, studies of the system have been primarily limited to Porto Alegre. There have been fewer studies of the phenomenon in other Brazilian cities or which are comparative or geographical in scope. It then presents the results of our comparative study of participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte. These results lead us to conclude that outcomes of participatory budgets are partly determined by the differentiated social, political and economic conditions that form the local context.
Keywords: participatory budgeting, Brazil
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