Participatory Democracy versus Elitist Democracy: Lessons from Brazil

William Nylen begins by discussing North Americans' love-hate relationship with politics and politicians, then shows how Brazilians feel the same way (as do many citizens of democracies throughout the world). He argues that this is so because contemporary

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William R. Nylen

Participatory Democracy versus Elitist Democracy

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Participatory Democracy versus Elitist Democracy: Lessons from Brazil By

William R. Nylen

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY VERSUS ELITIST DEMOCRACY

© William R. Nylen, 2003. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2003 978-1-4039-6306-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published 2003 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-52728-1 DOI 10.1057/9781403980304

ISBN 978-1-4039-8030-4 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nylen, William R. Participatory democracy versus elitist democracy: lessons from Brazil/by William R. Nylen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. 1. Democracy—Brazil. 2. Political participation—Brazil. 3. Elite (Social sciences)—Brazil. I. Title: Participatory democracy versus elitist democracy. II. Title. JL2481.N94 2003 320.981—dc21

2003048605

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October, 2003 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Nize

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Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments Foreword Chapter 1

ix xiii

Elitist Democracy, Civic Disengagement, and Citizen Politics in the United States

1

Elitist Democracy, Civic Disengagement, and Citizen Politics in Brazil

13

Chapter 3

Participatory Democracy in Theory

27

Chapter 4

Participatory Democracy in Practice—Brazil’s Workers’ Party and the Participatory Budget

35

The Orçamento Participativo in Betim, Minas Gerais

51

Examining the Claims of Proponents of the Participatory Budget

61

Examining the Claims of Critics of the Participatory Budget

91

Chapter 2

Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Conclusion

Administering the Participatory Budget— Ideology and Dedication

131

Participatory Democracy versus Elitist Democracy—Lessons from Brazil

145

Notes

157

Annex 1: Questionnaire for Delegates and Councilors of the Participatory Budget, 1998

209

viii



Table of Contents

Annex 2: Characteristics of 1998 OP Delegates (Respondents) in Betim and Belo Horizonte

213

Bibliography

217

Index

239

Preface and Acknowledgments

T

his is a book about problems and promises of democracy at the beginning of a new millennium. It started out as a book more specifically about Brazilian democracy, reflecting one North American’s o