From clientelism to cooperation: Local government, participatory policy, and civic organizing in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Politics and Society

Volumn 26, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 511-537

  Abers, Rebecca ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0032283968     PISSN: 00323292     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0032329298026004004     Document Type: Review

References (50)

1. See Rebecca Abers, "Inventing Local Democracy; Neighborhood Organizing and Participatory Policy-Making in Porto Alegre, Brazil" (Ph.D. diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 1997) for a more detailed examination of these issues, as well as a more general discussion of the politics of implementing the budget policy in Porto Alegre. Both the dissertation and this article are based on over a year and a half of field research in Porto Alegre between 1993 and 1997, funded by the Inter-American Foundation, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, and the UCLA Latin American Center. The research involved extensive interviews with more than 50 local government officials and more than 40 budget participants. I also collaborated in the application of a sample survey of 622 participants throughout the city (see note 9) and conducted participant observation at over 100 public assemblies and neighborhood meetings. Participant observation and interviews focused on two regions of the city - one with a long history of civic organizing and another where neighborhood organizations were historically weak. This article focuses on the latter region.
2. Robert D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993).
3. Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers, "Secondary Associations and Democratic Governance," Politics and Society 20, no. 4 (1992): 393-472.
4. On clientelism in Brazil, see Frances Hagopian, Traditional Politics and Regime Change in Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Eli Diniz, Voto e maquina politica: patronagem e clientelismo no Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra 1982) On the specific role of neighborhood associations in chentelist machines, see also Geert A. Banck, "Poverty, Politics and the Shaping of Urban Space: a Brazilian Example," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 10 (1986): 522-540, and Robert Gay "Community Organization and Clientelist Politics in Contemporary Brazil: A Case Study from Suburban Rio de Janeiro," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 14, no. 4 (1990): 648-666.
5. On clientelism in Brazil, see Frances Hagopian, Traditional Politics and Regime Change in Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Eli Diniz, Voto e maquina politica: patronagem e clientelismo no Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra 1982) On the specific role of neighborhood associations in chentelist machines, see also Geert A. Banck, "Poverty, Politics and the Shaping of Urban Space: a Brazilian Example," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 10 (1986): 522-540, and Robert Gay "Community Organization and Clientelist Politics in Contemporary Brazil: A Case Study from Suburban Rio de Janeiro," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 14, no. 4 (1990): 648-666.
6. On clientelism in Brazil, see Frances Hagopian, Traditional Politics and Regime Change in Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Eli Diniz, Voto e maquina politica: patronagem e clientelismo no Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra 1982) On the specific role of neighborhood associations in chentelist machines, see also Geert A. Banck, "Poverty, Politics and the Shaping of Urban Space: a Brazilian Example," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 10 (1986): 522-540, and Robert Gay "Community Organization and Clientelist Politics in Contemporary Brazil: A Case Study from Suburban Rio de Janeiro," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 14, no. 4 (1990): 648-666.
7. On clientelism in Brazil, see Frances Hagopian, Traditional Politics and Regime Change in Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Eli Diniz, Voto e maquina politica: patronagem e clientelismo no Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra 1982) On the specific role of neighborhood associations in chentelist machines, see also Geert A. Banck, "Poverty, Politics and the Shaping of Urban Space: a Brazilian Example," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 10 (1986): 522-540, and Robert Gay "Community Organization and Clientelist Politics in Contemporary Brazil: A Case Study from Suburban Rio de Janeiro," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 14, no. 4 (1990): 648-666.
8. James C. Scott "Patron-Client Politics and Political Change in Southeast Asia," American Political Science Review 66 (1972):91-113, cited in Luigi Graziano, "A Conceptual Framework for the Study of Clientelistic Behavior," European Journal of Political Research 4 (1976): 149-174.
9. James C. Scott "Patron-Client Politics and Political Change in Southeast Asia," American Political Science Review 66 (1972):91-113, cited in Luigi Graziano, "A Conceptual Framework for the Study of Clientelistic Behavior," European Journal of Political Research 4 (1976): 149-174.
10. Putnam, Making Democracy Work, 175.
11. Peter Evans, "Introduction: Development Strategies across the Public-Private Divide," World Development 24, no. 6 (1996): 1033-1037.
12. Elinor Ostrom, "Crossing the Great Divide: Coproduction, Synergy and Development " World Development 24, no. 6 (1996): 1073-1087. See also Gabrielle Watson, Good Sewers Cheap? Agency-Customer Interactions in Low-Cost Urban Sanitation in Brazil (Washington DC: The World Bank, Water and Sanitation Division, 1995).
13. Elinor Ostrom, "Crossing the Great Divide: Coproduction, Synergy and Development " World Development 24, no. 6 (1996): 1073-1087. See also Gabrielle Watson, Good Sewers Cheap? Agency-Customer Interactions in Low-Cost Urban Sanitation in Brazil (Washington DC: The World Bank, Water and Sanitation Division, 1995).
14. Wai Fung Lam, "Institutional Design of Public Agencies and Coproduction: A Study of Irrigation Associations in Taiwan," World Development 24, no. 66 (1996): 1039-1054.
15. Jonathan Fox, "How Does Civil Society Thicken? The Political Construction of Social Capital in Rural Mexico," World Development 24, no. 6 (1996): 1089-1103. See also Jonathan Fox, "Popular Participation and Access to Food: Mexico's Community Food Councils," in Scott Whiteford and Anne E. Ferguson, eds., Harvest of Want: Hunger and Food Security in Central America and Mexico (Boulter, CO: Westview, 1991), 209-241.
16. Jonathan Fox, "How Does Civil Society Thicken? The Political Construction of Social Capital in Rural Mexico," World Development 24, no. 6 (1996): 1089-1103. See also Jonathan Fox, "Popular Participation and Access to Food: Mexico's Community Food Councils," in Scott Whiteford and Anne E. Ferguson, eds., Harvest of Want: Hunger and Food Security in Central America and Mexico (Boulter, CO: Westview, 1991), 209-241.
17. Judith Tendler, Good Government in the Tropics (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996).
18. Charles Tilly, Form Mobilization to Revolution (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley 1978) and Sidney Tarrow, Power in Movement: Social Movements, Collective Action and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
19. Charles Tilly, Form Mobilization to Revolution (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley 1978) and Sidney Tarrow, Power in Movement: Social Movements, Collective Action and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
20. Tarrow, Power in Movement, 18.
21. J. Craig Jenkins, "Resource Mobilization Theory and the Study of Social Movements," Annual Review of Sociology 9 (1983): 527-553; John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. . k Zald, "Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory," American Journal of Sociology 82, no. 6 (1977): 1212-1241; and Tilly, From Mobilization to Revolution 52-97.
22. J. Craig Jenkins, "Resource Mobilization Theory and the Study of Social Movements," Annual Review of Sociology 9 (1983): 527-553; John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. . k Zald, "Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory," American Journal of Sociology 82, no. 6 (1977): 1212-1241; and Tilly, From Mobilization to Revolution 52-97.
23. J. Craig Jenkins, "Resource Mobilization Theory and the Study of Social Movements," Annual Review of Sociology 9 (1983): 527-553; John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. . k Zald, "Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory," American Journal of Sociology 82, no. 6 (1977): 1212-1241; and Tilly, From Mobilization to Revolution 52-97.
24. For the Brazilian case, Jacobi argues that while the window of opportunity repre-sented by the weakening of the dictatorship promoted the rise of popular movements in the early eighties, the work of a variety of external agents helps explain why those movements were stronger in some neighborhoods, cities, and regions than others. Pedro Jacobi, Movi-mentos sociais e politicas publicas (São Paulo: Cortez, 1989).
25. Although unusual, the Porto Alegre case is not unprecedented. For an interesting study of a similar policy in a U.S. city, see Haeberle's study of the Citizen Participation Program in Birmingham, Alabama. As in Porto Alegre, Haeberle finds that local government investment in directly promoting citizen participation dramatically strengthened the associational environment of that city. Steven H. Haeberle, Planting the Grassroots: Structuring Citizen Participation (New York: Praeger, 1989).
26. Sonia Alvarez, "'Deepening' Democracy: Popular Movement Networks, Constitutional Reform, and Radical Urban Regimes in Contemporary Brazil," in Robert Fisher and Joseph Kling, eds., Mobilizing the Community: Local Politics in the Era of the Global City (London: Sage, 1993), 195; Lúcio Kowarick and Nabil Bonduki, "Espaço urbano e espaço político: do populisme à redemocratizaçao," in Lúcio Kowarick, ed., As Lutas Sociais e a Cidade: São Paulo Passado e Présente (Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 1988), 133-167; and Paul Singer, "Movimentos de Bairro" in Paul Singer and V. C. Brant, eds., São Paulo: O Povo em Movimento (Sâo Paulo: Cebrap, 1980).
27. Sonia Alvarez, "'Deepening' Democracy: Popular Movement Networks, Constitutional Reform, and Radical Urban Regimes in Contemporary Brazil," in Robert Fisher and Joseph Kling, eds., Mobilizing the Community: Local Politics in the Era of the Global City (London: Sage, 1993), 195; Lúcio Kowarick and Nabil Bonduki, "Espaço urbano e espaço político: do populisme à redemocratizaçao," in Lúcio Kowarick, ed., As Lutas Sociais e a Cidade: São Paulo Passado e Présente (Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 1988), 133-167; and Paul Singer, "Movimentos de Bairro" in Paul Singer and V. C. Brant, eds., São Paulo: O Povo em Movimento (Sâo Paulo: Cebrap, 1980).
28. Sonia Alvarez, "'Deepening' Democracy: Popular Movement Networks, Constitutional Reform, and Radical Urban Regimes in Contemporary Brazil," in Robert Fisher and Joseph Kling, eds., Mobilizing the Community: Local Politics in the Era of the Global City (London: Sage, 1993), 195; Lúcio Kowarick and Nabil Bonduki, "Espaço urbano e espaço político: do populisme à redemocratizaçao," in Lúcio Kowarick, ed., As Lutas Sociais e a Cidade: São Paulo Passado e Présente (Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 1988), 133-167; and Paul Singer, "Movimentos de Bairro" in Paul Singer and V. C. Brant, eds., São Paulo: O Povo em Movimento (Sâo Paulo: Cebrap, 1980).
29. Sérgio Gregorio Baierle, "Um Novo Princípio Etico-Político: Prática Social e Sujeito nos Movimentos Populares em Porto Alegre nos Anos Oitenta" (master's thesis, Universade Estadual de Campinas, 1992), 97-98.
30. Hagopian, Traditional Politics and Regime Change in Brazil.
31. Baierle, "Um Novo Princfpio Etico-Polftico."
32. Here I loosely define the "combative" camp of neighborhood organizations as including those organizations officially affiliated with the city wide organization created by the "combative" leadership, UAMPA (Uniao das Associacoes de Moradores de Porto Ale-gre). The figure is reported in Baierle, "Um Novo Princfpio Etico-Polftico."
33. On PT history and ideology, see Moacir Gadotti and Otaviano Pereira, Pro Que PT: Origem, Projeta e Consolidaçao do Partido dos Trabalhadores (Sâo Paulo: Cortez, 1989); Margaret E. Keck, The Workers' Party and Demoralization in Brazil (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992); and Rachel Meneguello, PT: A Formaçao de um Partido, 1979-1982 (Sâo Paulo: Paz eTerra, 1989). On the experiences of other PT administrations, see Rebecca Abers, "From Ideas to Practice: The Partido dos Trabalhadores and Participa-tory Governance in Brazil," Latin American Perspectives 91, no. 23 (1996): 35-53; Alvarez, " 'Deepening' Democracy"; William Nylen, "Popular Participation in Brazil's Workers' Party: 'Democratizing Democracy' in Municipal Politics," The Political Chroni-cle Fall (1996): 1 -8; and William Nylen, "Reconstructing the Workers' Party (PT): Lessons from North-Eastern Brazil," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Ine-quality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 421-446.
34. On PT history and ideology, see Moacir Gadotti and Otaviano Pereira, Pro Que PT: Origem, Projeta e Consolidaçao do Partido dos Trabalhadores (Sâo Paulo: Cortez, 1989); Margaret E. Keck, The Workers' Party and Demoralization in Brazil (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992); and Rachel Meneguello, PT: A Formaçao de um Partido, 1979-1982 (Sâo Paulo: Paz eTerra, 1989). On the experiences of other PT administrations, see Rebecca Abers, "From Ideas to Practice: The Partido dos Trabalhadores and Participa-tory Governance in Brazil," Latin American Perspectives 91, no. 23 (1996): 35-53; Alvarez, " 'Deepening' Democracy"; William Nylen, "Popular Participation in Brazil's Workers' Party: 'Democratizing Democracy' in Municipal Politics," The Political Chroni-cle Fall (1996): 1 -8; and William Nylen, "Reconstructing the Workers' Party (PT): Lessons from North-Eastern Brazil," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Ine-quality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 421-446.
35. On PT history and ideology, see Moacir Gadotti and Otaviano Pereira, Pro Que PT: Origem, Projeta e Consolidaçao do Partido dos Trabalhadores (Sâo Paulo: Cortez, 1989); Margaret E. Keck, The Workers' Party and Demoralization in Brazil (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992); and Rachel Meneguello, PT: A Formaçao de um Partido, 1979-1982 (Sâo Paulo: Paz eTerra, 1989). On the experiences of other PT administrations, see Rebecca Abers, "From Ideas to Practice: The Partido dos Trabalhadores and Participa-tory Governance in Brazil," Latin American Perspectives 91, no. 23 (1996): 35-53; Alvarez, " 'Deepening' Democracy"; William Nylen, "Popular Participation in Brazil's Workers' Party: 'Democratizing Democracy' in Municipal Politics," The Political Chroni-cle Fall (1996): 1 -8; and William Nylen, "Reconstructing the Workers' Party (PT): Lessons from North-Eastern Brazil," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Ine-quality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 421-446.
36. On PT history and ideology, see Moacir Gadotti and Otaviano Pereira, Pro Que PT: Origem, Projeta e Consolidaçao do Partido dos Trabalhadores (Sâo Paulo: Cortez, 1989); Margaret E. Keck, The Workers' Party and Demoralization in Brazil (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992); and Rachel Meneguello, PT: A Formaçao de um Partido, 1979-1982 (Sâo Paulo: Paz eTerra, 1989). On the experiences of other PT administrations, see Rebecca Abers, "From Ideas to Practice: The Partido dos Trabalhadores and Participa-tory Governance in Brazil," Latin American Perspectives 91, no. 23 (1996): 35-53; Alvarez, " 'Deepening' Democracy"; William Nylen, "Popular Participation in Brazil's Workers' Party: 'Democratizing Democracy' in Municipal Politics," The Political Chroni-cle Fall (1996): 1 -8; and William Nylen, "Reconstructing the Workers' Party (PT): Lessons from North-Eastern Brazil," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Ine-quality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 421-446.
37. On PT history and ideology, see Moacir Gadotti and Otaviano Pereira, Pro Que PT: Origem, Projeta e Consolidaçao do Partido dos Trabalhadores (Sâo Paulo: Cortez, 1989); Margaret E. Keck, The Workers' Party and Demoralization in Brazil (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992); and Rachel Meneguello, PT: A Formaçao de um Partido, 1979-1982 (Sâo Paulo: Paz eTerra, 1989). On the experiences of other PT administrations, see Rebecca Abers, "From Ideas to Practice: The Partido dos Trabalhadores and Participa-tory Governance in Brazil," Latin American Perspectives 91, no. 23 (1996): 35-53; Alvarez, " 'Deepening' Democracy"; William Nylen, "Popular Participation in Brazil's Workers' Party: 'Democratizing Democracy' in Municipal Politics," The Political Chroni-cle Fall (1996): 1 -8; and William Nylen, "Reconstructing the Workers' Party (PT): Lessons from North-Eastern Brazil," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Ine-quality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 421-446.
38. On PT history and ideology, see Moacir Gadotti and Otaviano Pereira, Pro Que PT: Origem, Projeta e Consolidaçao do Partido dos Trabalhadores (Sâo Paulo: Cortez, 1989); Margaret E. Keck, The Workers' Party and Demoralization in Brazil (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992); and Rachel Meneguello, PT: A Formaçao de um Partido, 1979-1982 (Sâo Paulo: Paz eTerra, 1989). On the experiences of other PT administrations, see Rebecca Abers, "From Ideas to Practice: The Partido dos Trabalhadores and Participa-tory Governance in Brazil," Latin American Perspectives 91, no. 23 (1996): 35-53; Alvarez, " 'Deepening' Democracy"; William Nylen, "Popular Participation in Brazil's Workers' Party: 'Democratizing Democracy' in Municipal Politics," The Political Chroni-cle Fall (1996): 1 -8; and William Nylen, "Reconstructing the Workers' Party (PT): Lessons from North-Eastern Brazil," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Ine-quality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 421-446.
39. On PT history and ideology, see Moacir Gadotti and Otaviano Pereira, Pro Que PT: Origem, Projeta e Consolidaçao do Partido dos Trabalhadores (Sâo Paulo: Cortez, 1989); Margaret E. Keck, The Workers' Party and Demoralization in Brazil (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992); and Rachel Meneguello, PT: A Formaçao de um Partido, 1979-1982 (Sâo Paulo: Paz eTerra, 1989). On the experiences of other PT administrations, see Rebecca Abers, "From Ideas to Practice: The Partido dos Trabalhadores and Participa-tory Governance in Brazil," Latin American Perspectives 91, no. 23 (1996): 35-53; Alvarez, " 'Deepening' Democracy"; William Nylen, "Popular Participation in Brazil's Workers' Party: 'Democratizing Democracy' in Municipal Politics," The Political Chroni-cle Fall (1996): 1 -8; and William Nylen, "Reconstructing the Workers' Party (PT): Lessons from North-Eastern Brazil," in Douglas A. Chalmers et al., eds., The New Politics of Ine-quality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 421-446.
40. Abers, "Inventing Local Democracy."
41. All the names of budget participants and other community activists interviewed have been changed.
42. Seyla Benhabib, Situating the Self: Gender, Community and Postmodernism in Contemporary Ethics (New York: Routledge Kegan Paul, 1992).
43. For a discussion of theories of participation that assume that those who are best organized early on will continue to dominate over time, see Rebecca Abers, "Learning Democratic Practice: Distributing Government Resources through Popular Participation in Porto Alegre, Brazil," in Michael Douglass and John Friedmann, eds., Cities for Citizens: Planning and the Rise of Civil Society in a Global Age (Chichester, UK: Wiley, 1998), 39-65.
44. See Abers, "Inventing Local Democracy," for an examination of how the budget policy affected organizing patterns in one historically active region.
45. I conducted this survey in collaboration with two local nongovernmental organizations (CIDADE and FASE-RS) and the community relations department of the Porto Alegre municipal government. Questionnaires were applied at the second round of big annual assemblies, held during the month of June 1995. About 10% of the participants in each of sixteen regional and five thematic assemblies were interviewed, reaching a total of 622 , questionnaires. The survey addressed socioeconomic statistics, participatory experiences, participation in civil associations, and opinions about the budget process. For a report on the results, see Luciano Fedozzi, Maria Regina Pozzobon, and Rebecca Abers, "Orcamento Participative: Pesquisa Sobre a Populaçao Que Participou da Segunda Rodada de Assembléias do Orcamento Participative da Prefeitura Municipal de Porto Alegre" (unpublished manuscript, CIDADE/FASE, Porto Alegre, 1995).
46. In 1995, when the assembly survey was carried out, the monthly minimum salary was about US$100.
47. In her study of participation in land use decisions in the Brazilian city of Petropolis, Gondim notes, "It does not seem realistic to expect residents of the metropolitan periphery to go to the work of mobilizing themselves around legislation based on abstract land use planning concepts. People do not experience 'current land use patterns.' They experience concrete everyday effects of the disordered occupation of urban space. In other words, what matters is not the lot size in itself, but the lack of space for children to play or for the family to increase its living space. People are not worried about 'minimum adequate densities,' but about traffic jams, lines and insufficient water supply. Nor do they worry about 'incompatible uses,' but simply want to avoid the effects of pollution." Linda M. Gondim, "Dilemas da participaçao comunitaria," Revista de administraçao municipal 35, no. 187 (1988): 12. In the Porto Alegre Master Plan discussion, planners had great difficulty bringing planning jargon to the level of ordinary citizens. In consequence, it is not surprising that most of the assemblies were dominated by professionals and academics.
48. The work of an extension group from the local university's Urban Planning Program showed how it was possible to translate the Master Plan issues into terms more com-prehensible to ordinary participants. They held a seminar with members of the budget forum in the Gloria region to help them respond to the Master Plan process. With some guidance about how physical planning and legal issues affected their region, a vigorous debate took place as participants mapped the region and located areas that represented particular problems or that were sites of potential improvements.
49. City revenues nearly doubled over the first four years that the PT was in office in Porto Alegre, largely as a result of increases in the municipal taxes on property and services. For a detailed description of revenue changes, see Guillerme Cassel and Joao Verle, i "A polftica tributâria e de saneamento financeiro da Administraçao Popular," in Carlos Henrique Horn, ed., Porto Alegre: o Desafio da Mudança (Porto Alegre: Ortiz, 1994), 29-47.
50. See Rebecca Abers, "Practicing Radical Democracy: Lessons from Brazil," Plurimondi (forthcoming), for more on how the PT's political strategy made participatory policy possible.