Participatory Budgeting and Transformative Development in Brazil

Abstract

Abstract In a context of democratic openness and strong demands for a more equitable distribution of public resources, PB was implemented for the first time around thirty years ago in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The local democratic innovations linked to such experiences have crossed national borders and reached different social, economic and political contexts. Currently, it is estimated that there are more than 3000 PBs around the world. However, almost three decades after PBs were first set up, to what extent has this participatory practice contributed to the establishment of a counter-hegemonic model of urban governance? Has it somehow upheld the right to the city? Focusing on a paradigmatic experience, the PB of Belo Horizonte (Brazil) – one of the most enduring and on two occasions honoured as best practice by the UN-Habitat –, we intend to answer these questions and discuss the recognition of PB as a model for urban governance within a general context of neoliberal politics. PB’s capability to foster a move beyond capitalism must be reassessed.