Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Two Democracies, Two Legalities Pp. 310-338

8/10/2019 Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Two Democracies, Two Legalities Pp. 310-338

1/16

L W ND

GLO LIZ TION

FROM

LOW

Towards a osmopolitan egality

dited

oaventura de ousa

antos

University of Coimbra and University of Wisconsin Madison

nd

esar

Rodriguez Garavito

University of the ndes and University of Wisconsin Madison

UC M RIDGE

;

UN V RS TY PR SS


2/16

CHAPTER13

TWO DEMOCRACIES T\ \ O LEGALITIES

PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

IN

PORTO

ALEGRE BRAZIL

[ oaventura

l

Sousa Santos

Today, two forms of globalization

confront cach

olhc ,-:

th e

hegemonic

neolibcral globalization driven

by th e

interests of glob:: 1 capitalism, and

the counter-hegemonic globalizatioll, or globalizaLion from below,

driven hy th e transn


3/16


4/16

SI\NTOS

p ~ l r t i c i j l 8 t i 0 l 1

in lllul1icipal government.

This

political OPI,ollunity

was

(


5/16

:: 1\ I\i105

sl,ecial

concern [o r the

definitiun of l,ricmtles fur the distribution

of

inve,tmcllt resources.

PB

and its ins\-itutio lal framework have no

fllrtl1


6/16


7/16

S \NTOS

TIlt i n s t i t l ~ i o n a l organs of

community

partlcil ation are then con

s t l t u t , ~ c 1 ;

the

Fora of Delegates (sixteen regional

and

six thematic

delegates)

and

the COP.

The Fora

of Delcg3tes are collegiate organs

with consulting, controlling, ancl-tnobilizing functiom. The Fora meet

unce

d

month

and

the two major tasb of the d e l e g t e ~


8/16

SAN-lOS

i n t he

lnvestment

Pbn of

a global

expenditure

i tem for street

l aving

Cl

1

rrespondin.[(

1:0

20km

of

streets to be paved. The dismbution

of

this

amount

by

the different

regions was

the

result

of

rhe

app\icltion

of the

criteria, their weight, and the

grade

of the region in each

crilerion.

The

grJc\e received by

each

r eg ion in each criterion

is

l11u1:ip\ ied by

the

general criterion s

weight.

Th e sum

of the

partial

~ l o i m

(gr


9/16

S N T O ~

cornplexiry. The increase ami diversity of p \ r t i c i p ~ t i o n together with

the incre'lsing inrensity and

differentiation of

demands, h,ls also con

rributcd decisively to rn::llcing c


10/16

SANTOS

concerning a work, i ts posit ion was

eXl laiw:d

to d,e cllllllnunity

by

its

tcchniGll staff ,lnd the comlllunity

cndcdllp

:lgreeing,

The cUllsenslis-buiklillg process is cl1lnplex because

the

problems

under diSCUSSion

as

well as the decisions taken often have, beSides the

political climellsicn, a stron,g technical dimension. Mon>Jver, techni

cal criteria constitute one of the limits of pnrticip,ltlon 11l1d are rhem

se Ives sLlIll.etimcs

the object

of

debate

and cOllnict,

The

internal rules of

PI) include the technical criteria established by the v,lrif US depart

ments of

the

cxecutive. Some of the technicCil criteria currently in force

rire: all community claims and

demands

round technically nlll1vi:lble by

the city s ;)clministratioll are cancelled; preference is givcll

to

works-in

progress; ::mcl

the

pluvial

network

will no t be inst llled in streets

without

p;wemellts becriuse

the

network, beinp; open to allowfor

he

collection

of

rain

wmer, might be blocked by sand and rubbish,

In such a sys tem of co-govern\uenl:, the executive docs have ZI very

~ c t i v e role, if

only

because it conLru]s technical

k n o w l ( ~ d ~ e Cine

;llso

because it either gl ncmtes

the

relevant: information

or

has privileged

Llccess to

it. Its presence

in

PI)

is

quite strong by

rCZlson

of its coordinat

ing functions

both

in

the

COP

through iLs

IWO

represent8tives, even

though

they

do

no t have

the

r ight to vote, Clml in the re,;innal assem

blics through the CRC delegate in the region. Furthermore, the execu

tive itseJ.f forwards

autonomous

investrnent

pro[ osZlls

to dlC COP, the

so-called institutiond\ demands, which have their origin in executive

departments and which usually concern the

m : l i n t e n a n c ~

PI improve

ment of urban. infwstructures.

In additioll t l technical limits, there are financial limits, which are no t

always duly considered by the ;Jssclllblies, Suf(ice it to mention that, Cur

Cinallcial rcasons, ollly 30 percent of the demands originally fmmulatecl

loy the cOlnmunity CLln be taken care of. SometlLnes, the

W,1\

the clelllmlds

ZI

n.d

pr ioritics are formul::ltecl docs

not

take

inw

;lCCOUllt

cerlai

technical

conditions that: increase

the

cost beyond

what

til( COlUlllunitles them

selves consider reasonable. For example, the f ~ c t tha.t street raving lllllSt

inc]lI,k street lighting incre:lses its cost by a large :-lmount.l ,;uwadays, the

p e r c e n t a ~ c

1)1 investments included in the budget v,ll ies

ben\

een

,lllci

20 I CrCl llt, which is high by Brazilian sLmd,lIds,

The credihility ofthe political

conrract

that constitutes pI resides in

w ellL ct lvem:ss eli rhe decisions and in the llccount;lbih: y

hOlh

or the

cxcclltiv( and of [-he representatives

If

the civi Isoc iety ill rh,:COl (see

I\bers

199[-;,

2(00). The

fCict that ollly

30

pel cent of tlle

,-leJn;1Ilds

may

he cOllsidercd is less illll)ortant

tkm

the el(ecrive S ~ l i s { l l i u n

of

the

126

PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN

BRAZIL

demands sel ec ted for i nc lu si on in the Investment Plan. Several

mechanisms guarantee effectiveness and account:ability. First, the poli

tical will of the

executive

must be mentioned. The basic

principle

of

the

municipal

government is to fulfi ll as rigorously

as

possible the

Investment Plan and to justify what is left unfulfilled.

Secondly,

there

are

committees

- c reated withinthe Fora of Delegates- whose function

is

to

supervise

the

works.

In the

case

of

delays

or alterations, the

delegates have direct access to the Mayor s Off ice to ask for explana

tions. Thirdly, the

velY

structures of PB strongly

encourage

account

ability. The two institutions of regular

functioning

- the COP and the

Forum

of

Delegat es - are bound to the grassroots institutions:

the

Region::tl Assemblies

and the

Thematic Plenaries.

The latter

two

organs, because

they

are open to the individual and collective

partici

pat ion of a ll c it izens , exerc ise a double

popular

comrol,

upon

the

performance

of

the executive a nd upon community representation

itself.

practice, the exercise of control is sometimes problematic, as

witness the debates about t he quality of r ep re sent at ion and about

transparency

and

accountability.

As I have indicated , the close linkage of participation to resource

distribution and to the effectiveness of decisions is on e o f the

core

features

ofPB.

This alone explains why, for five

months,

PB

councilors

meet at least once a week, often twice

or

thrice a week, with no

remuneration,

even

travel expenses.

This

linking of

participation to

distribution

is, no

doubt,

one

of

the

virtues of PB,

but perhaps

also a

limitation. According to Tarso Genro , i t is common f or a r eg ion or

micro-region to stop participating in the

meetings

and assemblies :Jfter

their demands have been met.

They

usually begin participating again,

once they realize

that

in the year

in

which they d id

no t

participate

there was no investment made in their region or micro-region.

The

close binding articlllation of participation, distribution, and the

effectiveness of decisions may eventually

provoke

some addition::d

tension in the a lready tense f ie ld of co-govemment that

constitutes

the political contract

between

the executive


11/16

~ ; \ N T O :

btlth the

elected

mayor ;md the popular l11lWCmenr becomes ;11l111tU:11ly

rebtive

autonomy.

Th e

question

is: whose

autonomy is

more relati-

vized by entering th e contr:lct? PH is ;m initiative the PT populm

adlllinistrHtil1n of 1 \)rto Alegre, and its

bC1slc

instinttiom:l outline has

been designed over th e years by

the

execlltive.

t

is p ar t o f a political

l rogrClI1l or

redistribution

of public resources and det1locrtltiwtion of

dI e

st:1te.

This

politiC:11 program

is

also

\:bc

m e e t i n ~

grmmd

oJ

a

demand

with

a similar pl1liticall)rientation

advanced

hy

th e

pllpU

h r movement

,md sust;lined over the years by

much

struggle. Th e issue is, then how

this convergence of politic1l will has b o ~ c n carried out, on \ vh.ose terms

an d timetables,

an d

wi th wh at outcomes.

Without ;111)

doubt popular participation in 1 13 is

VCi Y

active. Is

it:

also

autollumous?

What

docs

i t m ea n t o

be

,1uton0l110us? Auto

i

10rny cmnot

be conceived

ilS

popular s p o n t n ~ i t y as

native c:1jx\citv to organize

poor people In degraded communities without

th e

SU[lport or influence of

external,

org::ll1ized

political forces. Autonomy rather must be conceived

IS the popular capacity to channel external support :lnc\ put it

at

th e

service

of

objectives, demands,

an d

agendas generatecl

i n t he

commu-

l l i t i e ~ . in the Bra7.i\ian

context autonomy is

measured

by

the capacity to

clevelup organizational strel1gth

an d

eerectiveness

by

m::meuvering

among competmg external political influences, using such competition

to impose

dem::ll1ds

that however important fnr the communltYI (10

no t

represent;) [)riorily

for

any of the political rorces in cornpe:itlon.

Since 1 13 is

no t a popubr moven ent

b ut a n

institution;}l con:stella-

tion designed to

operate

as a sustained, regularly functioning meeting

pbce ror th e popular movement


12/16

~ ; m o s

increClsingly

been suhmitted

to a proCound

k ~ l r n i n g

process

concerning

cOllll\1unication ,1l1d argumentation with l,ly pOI,ulations. Thell ' tech

L1icl1 reco111ll1enchtions must be

conveyed

in clccessihle language to

people who

llo llot

master

technical know leclge;

their

reasonability

musr be c1eI110nstnltec1 in a persuasive w:'y, rrt ther thr111 1ll1posed in an

auLhnnl:etri;:1I1

fclshion;

no

altern:1tive hypothesIs

or solut ion

may

be

CxclLLlled wIthout :;howing Its 1I1wi;1hility. Wlwl'C emlil;1

a

Lechllobur-

~ d l l c r , 1 \ i c culLure prcv;,ilecl, gradually : teclmoclemocratlc culture has

Cll1C l 1ecl.

This tr,msfonnation

has 110t

been easy. AccOflling t u Tarso Genro,

during the l,eriocl

hetween

1992 1l1d 1996, there W: 5 nlllrc progress in

c11anging the bnguC1ge and discourse of the engineers when addressing

the peopl e i n the communit ies than in changing their dismissive

atutucles V i S - ~ l - v i s what people had to S8Y. In

orher

w o r d ~

the

cap:1city

to make him

or herself

understood

has

il

f

1

wved

more

thell1 the

capa-

cil:y to listen. When Raul Pont initiated his

mandate

(19 -2000), he

became

pmticubrly

sensitive

to th e

bct : t ha t t he

structure :lnd process

of 1 13 were very

little

known :1L1longthe m I l l 1 l c i ~ , a l workel's and st


13/16

S i \ h T J ~

\addition

to

a form of dual power, lhis

situatiun

also comprises a

ronn

of con(runwtionallegc1l pluralityat the city level: (In ,me side, the

offici;l legality, o n t he ot her , t he u n o f I c i a l q ~ a H t y , which,

to

lHelke

thinglcde.1 Democrariem

c

l\edcI l\ibUcil5: TCJldcnci(is it [\ClliWCU;c llLl eWl ] ,ClI,d. S{t/wldor. PhD

Dissen;lrilm, UI\iversidade Feder;ll d;l

13;,hin.

S:\llII'S,

BO;wCIHur,\

de Sousa. 1998. 'T;lI'ticip;llory BlIllgC'ing ill l\nto Alegre:

TllW;\rd

a

Red

iotributive

Dcmocr;ley. Plilities

d

SDcice\'

26:461-510.

2.002. Towanl

Ncw Legal

ComliHIll .scme. L\lndon: elll'lt'rworlhs.

(ELL).,

{' nilel)111

ing.

Democrati,ing Delilucrete)': 13c)'nllclllteUhernl

DemDcmtic

CUllIn\. LIll1l1ull:

Versn.

VilLts-Bn:is, I\Cn:1r:1 (Ed.). 1999. lJLlIIOl\(J c/ IS EX/leri[ncirl.1 de OT\ClI lWlto

r u.rlici/lClt;I o

nos GIJI,eTllOS Lumi,. S li l) [ ) ;l l l lu:

[nslit:lIl{)

PI',lis.

HS

Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Two Democracies, Two Legalities Pp. 310-338

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Transcript of Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Two Democracies, Two Legalities Pp. 310-338