Porto Alegre - Birthplace of the Participatory Budget

So having orientated myself in Porto Alegre I have spent the last few days in meetings and events associated with "Orcamento Participativo". I aso got to visit a local High School (where my host Angela teaches) and talk to some of the students about life in the UK. My friend Marika has been tremendous and has helped with translating some of the more technical terms used at the "Assemblia" last night and with the scheduing of meetings in general.

One of yesterday´s meetings was with Cidade- a local NGO, who have led research and seminars on PB in Porto Alegre for over 20 years. It is clear that the political and socio-economic context in Porto Alegre has changed over that time. Today, PB appears to mean different things in the city. Cidade has also looked at different methods of moiblisation to support poor communities. Their most current campaign is to support the mobilisation of residents in a local favela "Chocolatao" who are due to be evicted this Thursday. This is all part of the urban planning programme to utilise downtown real estate for development linked to the 2014 World Cup in Rio. As a result the affected communities have established World Cup Popular Committees and are employing a range of strategies to challenge City Hall on their land regularisation policies.

This plight is a stark contrast to the image of co-production and participation evident last night at the first of a month long series of thematic "Assemblias" as part of the participatory budgeting process. Last night saw around 500 residents attend the "educacao assemblia" and determine priorities for City Hall education expenditure over the coming year. The overwhelming impression this event gave was one of huge energy and excitement. Participants ranged in age and background and it appeared as much of a social event as part of a political process. A large auditorium provided an imposing venue but the style was relaxed and engaging. Indeed, it was particularly refreshing to see members of Porto Alegre´s deaf community take to the stage to criticise the Assembly for no longer providing sign language to support their engagement.

Paticipation and reocgnition appear to be something people fight for in Porto Alegre.
It became clear in today´s smaller meeting with City Hall representatives that "participation and solidarity" remain central to the ethos of the municipality and participatory budgeting is only one such method employed. As a consequence significant resource is invested into the process of participation from publicity to outreach and engagement work, to administrative and financial staff dedicated to the process. Whilst over R 2,000,000 is invested in programmes annually via PB, I managed to deduce that over R 300,000 is invested in the faciliation of assemblies both at neighbourhood and city level and in addition it is supported by over 50 dedicated staff.

Tomorrow, I plan to visit another NGO- Soliderade working specifically in an outer city neighbourhood - Cristal. I hope to spend some time getting a feel for the impact PB has "on the ground" and what difference it makes to the lives of some of the poorest residents in the city.