Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Resource System
Municipal financial system
Resource Units
Money (public)
Location
Porto Alegre, Brazil

This case was originally researched and compiled for the SES Library by Matt Cohen in 2013 for the Arizona State University course SOS 591: Applied Robustness Analysis in Social Ecological Systems.

The resource appropriated is the city's municipal budget.  Local laws enable a participatory process in which citizens influence budget allocations through collaborative deliberation.  Citizens holding neighborhood-scale interests deliberate on allocations of the city-wide budget, a finite resource.  

Participatory Budgeting Process
Resource System

Municipal budget allocations

Resource Users

Citizens influence budget decisions; municipal councils (local legislative branch) approve final budget.

Public Infrastructure Providers

Municipal government

Public Infrastructure

The participatory process is the public infrasturucture. The process is defined through municipal laws/codes/ordinances. The participatory process has its own internal rules and structures.

Relationship 1

Citizens influence decisions on budget allocations.

Relationship 2

Municipal government acknowledges citizen power. Citizen buy-in legitimizes government decisions.

Relationship 3

Municipal government legitimizes participatory process and structures system of deliberation through laws/codes/ordinances

Relationship 4

Municipal codes dictate what percentage of the budget is open for public deliberation.

Relationship 5

Process structure dictates forms of participation: direct vs. representative

Relationship 6

Process structure dictates who participates when, how, and in what settings.

Exogenous Drivers 7 (Resource System)

Tax base/tax delinquency impacts total overall budget. Federal funding is a large contributor to the budget; federal-level financial crises could severely impact local-level resources.

Exogenous Drivers 7 (Public Infrastructure)

International agencies are interested in creating a standardized model of participatory budgeting. However, participatory budgeting is unique to each city and is based on attributes of the community.

Typically participatory budgeting falls in the middle of the spectrum between informal process and official local law. In some cases, the process is over-institutionalized, which can lead to cases of co-optation and perpetuation of power disparities.

Exogenous Drivers 8 (Resource Users)

Participatory budgeting is dependent on a mobilized citizenry. Participation numbers vary by year, and large-scale disenfranchisement would significantly impact budget allocation decisions.

Exogenous Drivers 8 (Public Infrastructure Providers)

Participatory budgeting challenges powers traditionally held by legislative branches of the municipal government. The process most often prospers in cities that operate under a strong mayor. Tensions between the local legislative and executive branches of government could negatively impact the participatory budgeting process.

Human Infrastructure, Private and Human-Made (Resource Users)
(none specified)
Human Infrastructure, Private and Human-Made (Public Infrastructure Providers)
(none specified)