Participative budget in Europe

 

Participative Budgeting definition

Ubiratán de Souza, one of the primary people responsible for the Participatory Budget in Porto Alegre (Brazil) proposes a precise and theoretical definition that can be applied to the majority of the Brazilian cases : « Participatory Budgeting is a process of direct, voluntary and universal democracy, where the people can debate and decide on public budgets and policy. The citizen’s participation is not limited to the act of voting to elect the executive or the legislators, but also decides on spending priorities and controls the management of the government. He ceases to be an enabler of traditional politics and becomes a permanent protagonist of public administration. The PB combines direct democracy with representative democracy, in other words a combination of elements of direct or semi-direct democracy with representative democracy, an achievement that should be preserved and valued. » In fact, the Participatory Budgeting is a form of participatory democracy, in other words a combination of elements of direct or semi-direct democracy with representative democracy.

Source : 72 Frequently Asked Questions about Participatory Budgeting : download the pdf

A non exhaustive map about participative budgeting around the world : watch the map

Many social movements use BP to advance their habitat projects locally.