The Citizen Participation Law of Mexico City establishes that everyone has the right, individual or collective, to intervene in public decisions. In this sense, one of the mechanisms of participatory democracy, through which citizens can exercise this right, is the participatory budget.
In Mexico City, for 2021, the participatory budget represents 3.5% of the total budget assigned to city halls and is intended for projects proposed and voted on by the citizens. Unlike other democratic practices of accountability, the participatory budget has the particularity that it incorporates citizens in the different stages of the policy cycle (proposal, approval, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). Broadly speaking, at first a Citizen Assembly is created to make a diagnosis of the community’s needs. Subsequently, a consultation is made in which citizens vote for the best project. Finally, an Evaluation and Accountability Assembly is created that reports on the progress of the projects and the use of resources. It should be noted that in CDMX, these can be related to works and services, equipment, urban infrastructure, crime prevention and recreational, sports or cultural activities.
The concept of participatory budgeting was created in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in the late 1980s, as the party that won the local elections wanted to show a new way of governing. The idea was that citizens could participate more openly with the government, with the aim of making better decisions. Given the success of the exercise, the participatory budget has been replicated in several countries in the Latin American region, but also in Europe (particularly in cities such as Paris, Rome, Lisbon, Berlin, Seville, among others) and in nations such as the Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, Indonesia, Kenya and Mozambique.
It is difficult to make generalizations about this scheme, since the implementation models and experiences in the world are diverse. Undoubtedly, there are many success stories to tell, in which some common elements stand out, such as clear rules, a civil society that gets involved, and a local authority that genuinely seeks to cooperate with citizens. Experts in the field such as Wampler and Touchstone point out, for example, that during the ten years in which participatory budgeting has been applied in Brazil, this country has recorded a significant reduction in infant mortality figures.
On the other hand, around this democratic exercise we also find less successful results and skepticism about its application. There are those who perceive that these exercises are sometimes a montage that seeks to benefit the image of a particular city or politician. Similarly, in some cases it has been shown that the allocated budget is too low to produce any significant change. Additionally, sometimes projects are financed that are the obligation of local governments (public lighting, video surveillance cameras, among others).
Without a doubt, citizen involvement is a core component of this model. However, in Mexico apathy is high and the level of citizen participation is low compared to other nations. This is understood, because circumstances have made society not only distrust the authorities, politicians and police, but even our own neighbors. According to the National Survey of Civic Culture 2020, only 22% of the population over 18 years of age participated in activities related to public affairs, such as signing a petition to request a service, being part of a protest, working with other people to resolve a community problem, among others. Furthermore, only 19% of the population of legal age knows or has heard of the participatory budget.
Even though the participatory budgeting exercise has its areas of opportunity in Mexico and the rest of the world, the reality is that the benefits that residents of the neighborhoods involved receive year after year outweigh the disadvantages. And precisely, when talking about the benefits, not only material issues should be considered, such as the application of asphalt in certain roads, the installation of lights, the fitting out of a module for children’s games or a video surveillance system in a certain neighborhood. . The advantages go much further, since the exercise also has the potential to strengthen communities and coexistence, as well as to rebuild trust, the social fabric and solidarity among citizens.
General Director of Ethos Public Policy Laboratory
Guest column
Graduate in International Relations (ITAM) and Master in Public Policy and Administration (London School of Economics). He collaborated in the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit where he acquired extensive experience in tax policy and specialized in the analysis of tax systems in the international arena. He also worked at Fundar in the Public Budgets Area, on budget transparency and accountability. At Ethos, he has coordinated work on public finances, poverty, public security and anti-corruption.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx