From participatory democracy to de-democratization in the city: the experience of Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre

Abstract

This article analyzes the effect of democracy on the city's production, taking into account the particular experience of Porto Alegre after the 1988 Brazilian Constitution. The state-civil society relationship is analyzed through established participatory institutions. The analysis focuses on the experience of participatory budgeting (PB) and the method is the discourse analysis of official documents, legislation and minutes, and political ethnography, through the observation of PB assemblies and Council. A framework of the democratic experience is established, namely: 1) participatory democracy (1989-2004); 2) liberal governance (2005-2016); 3) and ultraliberal market (2016-), representing the different forms of democracy that affect the production dynamics of the city.

democracy; city; Porto Alegre; participatory democracy; de-democratization