Participatory budget
The party and the people
Rio Grande's participatory budget process is the pillar of popular support for the Workers Party Yet neither the party, nor the trade unions, have any organised participation in the process. The party sees its role as aiding the geographical extension, and deepening of the process, both in terms of participation, and the range of public affairs which are submitted to public discussion and control.
This approach reflects the party's conclusions about the shortcomings of eastern Europe's "real socialism" in which the party and the state were merged, and democracy was severely restricted. The pluralist spirit, and respect for the autonomy of social movements is very strong in the Workers Party (PT), itself the result of the fusion of catholic currents, a wide range of "Trotskyist" and "Communist" currents, and groups formerly engaged in armed struggle.
"The concept of social movement autonomy is so strong," explains PT Communications Secretary Lúcio Costa, "that we don't even manage to elaborate a party opinion on the major elections in the trade unions. Many PT cadre would like to, but many militants react violently, protesting that this would be 'like in the USSR!' This tradition in the PT is basically a healthy thing, though obviously sometimes 'respect for autonomy' can hide all kinds of obscure interests."
Many militants participate as individuals, but the PT's 'organisational culture' strongly rejects any organised participation.
According to Raul Pont, mayor of the state capital, Porto Allegre, "some militants of the opposition parties do participate. Sometimes their criticism is less than participative! But sometimes it is constructive, and they formulate it in terms of 'our government should..!
"Some ultra-left groups failed to understand the dynamic of popular democracy, and intervened in participatory budget meetings with sharp, hostile polemics against the PT administration, and long presentations of their own party's programme and proposals. On some occasions, they had to be removed from the meeting by stewards, for their own protection."
According to Lúcio Costa, "the mass of participants react very strongly if anyone criticises 'our government and 'our process.
Even in forums where 90% of members are PT REAL members and supporters, we just don't see this as a forum for propaganda. It's a place for discussion for common questions, by the population."
In fact, few people ever suggested that the PT participate directly in the participatory budget The party has always focused on the main elements of the government programme, and strategies for implementation.
Raul Pont would like to see the trade unions more closely involved with the participatory budget. "We will try to involve them through sectoral thematic discussions, rather than the basic constituency meetings. The first participatory budget regulations, 10 years ago, didn't even see a role for civic and local organisations. According Raul Pont, "we were emerging from a long period of dictatorship. Neighbourhood organisations had been characterised by co-option by the regime, and networks of clientelism -a constant feature of Brazilian and Latin American politics. We wanted to put a stop to this, and ensure the most direct democracy possible."
Participatory budget regulations prevent elected politicians and top civil servants from participating in the process, except for their obligation to attend and respond to questions from the floor. According to Pont, "this is one way of limiting the reemergence of clientelism. If someone in government wants to participate in the participatory budget process, they have to resign first.
"We didn't exclude organisations, but we insisted that each participant speak in his or her own name only. But obviously, people know that some speakers represent particular groups or organisations."
One of the many changes in the participatory budget over the last 10 years has been the growing role of neighbourhood and single-issue groups. Pont welcomes this development, through which "the civic organisations have found, in the participatory budget process, a forum and a structure for their activities which simply doesn't exist elsewhere. Trade unions have their workplace and sectoral negotiations with the employers, political parties have the electoral process, but the civic associations never had a structured 'space'. Now, in Porto Allegre and other parts of the state, they do.
"The participatory budget process has contributed to a considerable development of neighbourhood and single issue groups. They have never been as well organised."
As participation increases, there is increasing competition for positions as delegates to the higher levels of the participatory budget. Civic and neighbourhood groups are increasingly combining to present lists of candidates for election. As long as this does not threaten the process of direct democracy, most militants accept this development as a way of clarifying the debate between candidates. [M] *
International Viewpoint #312 June 1999 23
FLAKES
FUND®
CRANEE
Peters
Debt and human rights
"The effects of debt-linked economic adjustment policies on the effective enjoyment of human rights, and especially on the application of the Declaration of the Right to Development." • United Nations, 55th Session, Geneva, April 1999