The PT's New Accent and Lula's Near-Miss
by gianpaolo baiocchi The results of the recent election show that Lula may still be vulnerable to questions about corruption in his party and faces a tough run-off election, but also that the PT is changing. A party borne of striking industrial workers in Sao Paulo state now has as its electoral base the poorer […]
Participatory Budgeting in Cordoba, Spain
A recent piece, published in Re-public describes the PB process in Cordoba, Spain. The Cordoba process is well-documented and is known throughout Europe as an example of a successful process.
"The Gay Bathroom Controversy" and the PB
A small story has been circulating in the internet about the controversy in the small town of Pombos, in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The actual controversy involves project for a public bathroom for travestis (cross-dressers) is going to be discussed at the next PB Council meeting in the town. The issue, according to a […]
PB Session at Africities Summit
On September 20th in Nairobi there will be a PB session as part of the Africities Summit: "Participatory Budgeting: Building Inclusiveness in Policy Making and Municipal Finance for the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals" For additional information, see the session announcement or contact George Matovu at gmatovu(at)mdpafrica(dot)org(dot)zw
PB in England
The PB Unit, a British NGO supported by the Office of the Prime Minister and Oxfam, has recently sent out one of their E-Newsletters that describes, among other things, a couple of PB-like efforts underway in the UK. By going on their site, above, it is possible to sign up for regular E-Newsletters, and to […]
Porto Alegre's PB continues to deteriorate
A recent story posted on CIDADE’s website gives credence to the notion that Porto Alegre’s PB has not been the same since the PT left power in the city, official versions of events nonwithstanding. It describes chaos and confusion and a constant climate of unproductive conflict at the COP – the highest tier of the […]
Our Communities, Our Water
A forum on Water Privatization, Our Communities, Our Water: Connecting the Local and The Global will be held at UMASS Amherst on Sept 22-24, organized by Mass Global Action, in partnership with several sponsoring organizations, including Alliance for Democracy. The keynote speaker is Frances Moore Lappe, on Saturday. For the press release, see this link.
E-Forum on Participation and Social Control in the Management of Water and Sanitation Public Services
Participation and Social Control in the Management of Water and Sanitation Public Services September 11 through 29th 2006 Hosted by: CESU and Center for Water Promoted by CGIAB/IC/CONCERTAR At the site: www.aguabolivia.org Background In a continuous effort to create spaces of debate over issues that we consider important, CGIAB CESU/Center for Water are organizing an […]
Citizen's Budget Committee in Olympia, Washington
The City of Olympia, Washington is organizing a "Budget Ad Hoc Committee" of ordinary city residents that is perhaps a variation of participatory budgeting:http://www.ci.olympia.wa.us/citygovernment/advisory/budgetahc/http://olyblog.net/blog/emmettoconnell/one-week-left-to-apply-to-the-citizens-budget-committee
Participatory Budgeting Experiences in Venezuela
On July 20-22 there was a conference in Caracas on participatory budgeting experiences in Venezuela, organized by the Centro Internacional Miranda. Some of the powerpoint presentations on the PB processes in different Venezuelan municipalities are now available on the Examples page. A couple observations of interesting techniques used in the Venezuelan PBs: – In Iribarren, […]