Context ofCivil Society Participation in Local Governance

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expanded to include projects and programs that would attract the middle class.In Belo Horizonte political activists who had long favored clientelism had to retool their political strategies to provide resources for their neighborhoods.Traditional political organizers could no longer rely on clientelism but had to mobilize and deliberate in new ways.

Participatory budgeting programs act as “citizenship schools.”The first stage ofthe participatory budgeting process,at the beginning ofthe yearly budgetary cycle,consists mainly ofinformation meetings.These meetings provide governments,NGOs,and the most well-informed activists the opportunity to discuss matters pertaining to the budget,government authority and responsibility,taxation,and citizenship rights (social,political,and civil). New citizens are inundated with information,while longtime participants sharpen their own understandings.This is where NGOs play a large role, working with longtime participants to improve their political strategies while providing help to new participants.

Citizenship rights play an important role because participatory budgetingparticipants address issues ofgovernment authority and citizens’ duties.Participants,especially citizens with a long history ofpolitical activism,draw on the rights guaranteed by the 1988 Brazilian Constitution to support their arguments during the negotiation stages.During the initial “empowerment”meetings,participants are taught about their rights,their duties as citizens,and the responsibility ofthe government.The extension ofcitizenship rights,governments and participants assert,depends on the strengthening ofcommunity ties and the dismantling ofthe entrenched social,political,and economic positions that separate individuals in many developing countries.Participatory budgeting programs provide an opportunity for citizens to forge solidarity bonds based on the similarity of their demands.Community ties,between groups and individuals,may be strengthened as the programs enable them to address their problems and look for collective solutions.Ifcitizen demands for rights are one ofthe bedrocks ofdemocracy,then participatory budgeting is helping strengthen the consolidation ofdemocracy.

The “bus caravan trip”is one ofthe best examples ofthis effort. Representatives from each neighborhood visit all proposed public works within their region so that they can personally evaluate the social need for a proposed project.Participatory budgeting delegates are known to change their positionswhen they visit a project site where social needs appear much greater than at sites ofother proposed projects.When the bonds ofsolidarity are emphasized and promoted,the participatory budgeting program fosters a stronger sense ofcommunity.

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Participatory budgeting gives traditionally excluded citizens the opportunity to voice their demands in a formal public sphere.The legitimization oftheir demands and the ability (right) to raise contentious issues in a public arena are important steps forward in breaking down rigid social hierarchies.

Participatory Budgeting Promotes Social Justice The resources allocated through the participatory budgeting program tend to be implemented in low-income areas.Neighborhoods or subregions with lower levels ofinfrastructure and higher poverty rates receive more resources than better-offsubregions.The Quality ofLife Index,based on income,education,physical infrastructure,and social services provided, forms the basis for the distribution ofresources.It guarantees that the poorer regions ofa city receive more resources than better-offneighborhoods.The division ofresources along regional and subregional lines is an effective instrument for redistributing resources to low-income and underserviced neighborhoods.Participatory budgeting helps distribute wealth to poorer areas ofa municipality,and it allows the poorest members ofthe community to decide how to spend resources in their community.

Between 1996 and 2003,the participatory budgeting program in Porto Alegre spent $400 million on projects selected by participants (Wampler 2007b).The vast majority ofthese resources went to underserviced and poorer districts.While it is impossible to establish precisely the volume of resources allocated to low-income areas,it is possible to document that the poorest regions ofPorto Alegre received funding that had not been previously available.It is also possible to confirm that low-income neighborhoods in Belo Horizonte received more resources than did middle- and upperincome neighborhoods.Low-income neighborhoods also received more than they had traditionally received.The policy implication is clear:when participatory budgeting programs function well,they affect the lives of lower-income individuals and communities.

A second way in which participatory budgeting programs promote social justice is through the development ofthematic decision-making bodies. Citizens concerned with the lack ofhealth care services or poor quality education can express their demands in participatory budgeting forums. The debates may lead the government to allocate more resources to the underserviced areas.

Evidence suggests that governments that are already dedicated to spending more resources in poorer neighborhoods implement participatory budgeting

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programs.It is not clear whether the increase in social spending stems from the participatory budgeting program or the political ideology ofthe progressive government.While it is impossible to separate the political agenda ofa reformist government from the workings ofparticipatory budgeting, participatory budgeting programs tend to co-exist with significant changes in social spending.Participatory budgeting helps the government make better allocation decisions in substantive policy areas.

Social justice is also achieved by means ofmore efficient and communityoriented policies.Less corruption,fostered by transparent processes,helps ensure that public resources will be used more effectively.More efficient use ofpublic resources most directly affects poor and low-income citizens,as a greater number ofprojects can be implemented.These projects often have an immediate impact on the quality oflife for a neighborhood or an underserviced policy arena.The policy implication is clear:participatory budgeting helps promote transparent processes that reduce government corruption and waste.Highlighting budgetary issues within participatory budgeting creates a spillover effect,as parts ofthe budget that fall outside the purview ofparticipatory budgeting also come under increased scrutiny.

Finally,social justice is advanced through the entrance oftraditionally excluded groups and citizens into vital decision-making venues.While this is not a material benefit directly linked to social justice,the creation ofthis institutional sphere provides low-income citizens with the opportunity to address their political and social demands in a formal environment.Traditionally excluded citizens have the opportunity and right to participate in new decision-making venues.Their decisions and their votes result in specific changes in their communities.Being granted the opportunity to make decisions that shape their lives and the lives oftheir fellow citizens is an extraordinarily empowering process for low-income and previously excluded citizens.

Participatory Budgeting Spurs Administrative Reform Implementing new decision-making processes requires changes to the bureaucracy so that implementation conforms to the new criteria.In successful participatory budgeting programs,considerable time and effort are dedicated to decentralizing the government.Officials are appointed to aid the administration ofeach district.The reorganization oflocal administrative processes facilitates contact between the government and the population. These officials act as intermediaries between citizens and the technical staff.