Annex:DISHA Budget Briefs Provided to Legislators, 1997–98 47 References

48 Brian Wampler

Will participatory budgeting programs subvert traditional patronage networks? Does the government want to do so? Can participatory budgeting help the government establish new bases of political support? Is the government willing to try to reform the local bureaucracy? How viable is delegating decision-making authority along political and administrative lines?

At the heart ofany consideration must be the viability ofthe delegation of decision-making authority along political and administrative lines.Participatory budgeting is a cumbersome process that often takes several years to run relatively smoothly.Ifa government faces intense political pressures from other political parties or the media,the cumbersome and public nature ofparticipatory budgeting may exacerbate governability problems.Governments must have sufficient political flexibility to engage citizens in an innovative policy-making process.Furthermore,the government must have the resources and capacity to reform the bureaucracy so that the program will actually be implemented according to the established rules.

Financial flexibility and independence is a second issue to be considered. For example,do Mexican municipalities or Indian states have enough independent financial resources to incorporate citizens directly into the policymaking process? Ifa government has few financial resources or little flexibility, itshould consider how a focus on financial and budgetary issues will affect its overall political agenda.Ifthe government lacks financial autonomy,can it use a type ofparticipatory budgeting to have citizens help prioritize some types ofsocial spending? In this case,a participatory budgeting program could be used as an educational tool rather than as a means to allocate scarce resources.

When governments are unable or unwilling to implement participatory budgeting programs,NGOs can play a vital role,by disseminating information and monitoring government spending.NGOs have played an important role in promoting participatory budgeting programs throughout Brazil. They can work with governments to implement participatory budgeting programs,or they can set up parallel monitoring programs.

One initial challenge is to engage social movements and NGOs on seemingly arcane issues oftaxation,representation,and more efficient policy making.Before the implementation ofa participatory budgeting program, it would be helpful ifcivil society activists begin to questionhow public resources are being used and how they could be used.The first step would be to focus on the budget and social spending.