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Living Under a Democracy: Participation and Its Impact on the Living Conditions of the Poor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Leonardo Avritzer
Leonardo Avritzer*
Affiliation:
Federal University of Minas Gerais
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Abstract

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The Brazilian democratization took place between 1985 and 1988. In 1985, the authoritarian power holders transferred political power to civilians, and in 1988, a new democratic constitution was enacted, thus finalizing the transition. The end of the transition triggered processes of participation in different Brazilian cities, such as São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro. However, only in Porto Alegre could the political context in the postdemocratization period generate a process of reverting priorities, that is to say, of inverting the pattern of democratic participation and the pattern of public investment at the urban level. In this article, I show the social conditions of the poor in the city of Porto Alegre in 1985, explain the emergence of participatory budgeting in the city, and show how democracy made a difference in the living conditions of the urban poor in the city of Porto Alegre. In the second part of the article, I analyze the recent expansion of participatory budgeting in Brazil and its recent expansion to midsize cities. In the final part of the article, I show how new participatory institutions are being introduced at the federal level of government. Participation at the local and national levels is making a difference in the living conditions of the Brazilian poor.

Resumen

Resumen

La democratización de Brasil tuvo lugar entre 1985 y 1988. En 1985 los titulares del poder autoritario transfirieron la política a los civiles, y en 1988 se instauró una nueva constitución democrática, finalizando el proceso de transición. El final de la transición precipitó procesos de participación en diferentes ciudades brasileñas, como São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Recife y Rio de Janeiro. Sin embargo, fue sólo en Porto Alegre que el contexto político en el periodo pos-democratización logró generar un proceso de “reversión de prioridades”, esto es, de una inversión del patrón de participación democrática así como el patrón de inversión pública al nivel urbano. Este trabajo mostrará las condiciones sociales de los pobres en la ciudad de Porto Alegre en 1985, explicará la aparición de los presupuestos participativos en la ciudad, y mostrará como la democracia significó una diferencia en las condiciones de vida de los pobres en la ciudad de Porto Alegre. En la segunda parte del trabajo, se analizará la reciente expansión de los presupuestos participativos en Brasil y su extensión reciente a ciudades de tamaño medio. En la última parte del trabajo, se mostrará también cómo las nuevas instituciones participativas están siendo introducidas al nivel del gobierno federal. La participación a los niveles local y nacional juntas han constituido una diferencia en las condiciones de vida de los pobres en Brasil.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 45 , Issue S1: Living in Actually Existing Democracies , 2010 , pp. 166 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Latin American Studies Association

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