BOOK REPORT

The Porto Alegre Experiment: Learning Lessons for Better Democracy

The Porto Alegre Experiment: Learning Lessons for Better Democracy

Summary

Porto Alegre Experience the country offers a description of how this democratic innovation works in practice, and asks tough questions. Can local participation in governance is really to strengthen its effectiveness? This is true participation is possible without small groups to monopolize power? Can the local organization does not become a bureaucracy and cut off from their roots? Can mobilize the neighborhood to act on the narrow-mindedness and in the public interest?

The book also raises a broader question, what lessons can be learned from Porto Alegre to renew the democratic institutions in other countries. This bright and independent-minded investigation will be useful, scientists, politicians and those who are for the deepening of democratic institutions in the world (Gret, Sintomer, 2005).

In his experiment, participation budget decisions in the last decade, Porto Alegre direct democratic participation, an area on the territorial principle, ordinary citizens in addressing spending priorities started. This book examines how this democratic innovation works in practice, and asks tough questions. Can local participation in governance is really to strengthen its effectiveness? This is true participation is possible without small groups to monopolize power? Local organizations will not be bureaucratized and cut off from their roots? Can mobilize the neighborhood to act on the narrow-mindedness and in the public interest? The book also raises a broader question, what lessons can be learned from Porto Alegre to renew the democratic institutions in other countries.

Synopsis

On representative democracy, the world is no longer the agency of the popular will. In the U.S., the elections are controlled by big money. In developing countries, undemocratic imposition of neoliberal economic policies forced the government to basic services like health and education to build. But Porto Alegre is the obvious alternative to peace. In his experiment, participation budget decisions in the past ten years, this city, the organizational direct democratic participation, an area on the territorial principle, and ordinary citizens in the priorities of expenditure (Gret, Sintomer, 2005).

This possibility is already in practice how the new democratic practices, such as inspired the now famous experiment in Porto Alegre, and support the call for a more active participation in other places, including in North.2 As we see in North and South saw contemporary revival of the thread democratic theory, which contribute a deep form of citizen involvement, there is still much debate, even within this broad school, as it should be done. Each of them contains important but often implicit assumptions about strategy and policy decisions that must be dealt with in detail. At the risk of oversimplification and generalization, I would like four sub-schools or approaches that can increase as the participation of citizens who can expand democracy in the new literature to be found. These approaches are not mutually exclusive, even what I call democracy, "civil society"; participatory democracy, deliberative democracy and authority, representative democracy (Gret, Sintomer, 2005).

One approach is widely used by donors to the prejudices ...