In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the leader of the opposition and majority leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Cezar Busatto, can scarcely control his irritation when discussing the subject. According to him, the Porto Alegre system is illegal, because there is no formal law regulating it. It is also Machiavellian, he says, because citizens curtail their expectations when they feel themselves to be part of the established political order. But even Busatto concedes that participation in the budgetary process adds legitimacy to public institutions. So his party has decided to fight fire with fire and has established the Democratic Forum, a parallel system of public hearings sponsored by the legislative branch that exists side by side with the participatory system established by the executive branch.
Paulo state is instructive.
After winning the mayoral election in 1989, the Workers Party established a system of participatory budgeting. But four years later, when the party lost and the system was abandoned, there was little public reaction. Another four years went by, and the Workers Party retook city hall. This time, says Mayor Celso Daniel, participatory budgeting will be applied more vigorously, which hopefully will give the system more staying power. The first time, he admitted, his party took half measures, which he called a a lack of daring on our part.