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Book Details
Abstract
Porto Alegre in Brazil is famous as the city that pioneered a revolutionary kind of local democracy. Started over a decade ago by the municipal administration of the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT), this process - called the 'participatory budget' - has steadily attracted attention from around the world, including the UN and even the financial press.
This is the first book in English that allows the creators of the participatory budget to explain the process for themselves - what it is, how it is achieved, what benefits it brings. Written by key figures from Porto Alegre - including the former mayor and the head of the City Planning Office - it provides a unique insight into the revolutionary democratic changes that have proved such a success. It is also a practical how-to-do-it guide that will help local communities and policy-makers put these ideas into action.
The Porto Alegre experience shows that a truly different kind of political democracy is possible - it presents a real alternative to the current model of liberal representative democracy that has been eroded by unelected transnational institutions and multinational corporations.
'Iain Bruce's impressive collection is the first book-length study available in English of Porto Alegre's participatory political project. Refreshingly unwilling to romanticise its subject matter, it takes a robustly multifaceted approach. A must for those seriously interested in global democracy from the grassroots up'
The Guardian
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contents | v | ||
| List of Tables and Figures | vi | ||
| IIRE Notebooks for | vii | ||
| Acknowledgements | ix | ||
| List of Abbreviations | x | ||
| Introduction: From the PT to Porto Alegre | 1 | ||
| Prologue: The View from Below | 6 | ||
| Part I: The Participatory Budget- Origins, Aims and Ambiguities | 21 | ||
| 1. Participatory Democracy – The Debate | 23 | ||
| 2. From First Steps to Final Strategies | 38 | ||
| Part II: How it Works | 55 | ||
| 3. Basic Principles | 57 | ||
| 4. Porto Alegre: The City Budget | 63 | ||
| 5. The Participatory Budget in Two Other Cities | 85 | ||
| 6. On a Bigger Scale: Rio Grande do Sul and Nationwide | 100 | ||
| Part III: What it Means | 109 | ||
| 7. Participatory Democracy and Local Power: The Experience of Porto Alegre | 111 | ||
| 8. Theses on Local Government and the Struggle for Socialism | 120 | ||
| 9. The Question of Democracy Today | 127 | ||
| 10. PT Local Governments and Socialism | 133 | ||
| Notes | 149 | ||
| Index | 157 |