Participatory Democracy in Florianópolis: The Experience of Participatory Budgeting Based on Law no. 14.061/2018

Abstract

Objective: Analyze participatory democracy and highlight the municipality, as a fruitful space for the realization of citizenship, through popular participation in public management, focusing on the institute of participatory budgeting in decision-making and the experience of Florianópolis, considering the five years of validity of the Municipal law 14.061/2018.   Theoretical framework: Supported by the theoretical legacy of Paulo Bonavides, the research seeks to stimulate critical reflection on participatory democracy in Brazilian constitutionalism and the exercise of citizenship at the local level. Starting from the understanding that the Constitution and the Democratic Rule of Law in the Brazilian federative model find a privileged space for action in the municipality and, therefore, are also carried out through local constitutional policies, the research considers the need to establish instruments that enable the implementation of participatory democracy, especially when it comes to cities and citizenship such as social inclusion, political participation, and community integration. In this sense, participatory budgeting is presented as an effective means of stimulating popular participation at the municipal level.   Method: Contextualized within the disciplinary scope of Constitutional Law, from the methodological perspective of the study of Law as constitutional policy, this article is the result of bibliographical and document research, with the application of the hypothetical-deductive method, also involving the collection of data relating to the budget participatory in the Capital of Santa Catarina and the analysis of its correlation with popular participation.   Results and conclusion: The standardization of the participatory budget gave greater legitimacy and, in fact, stimulated popular participation. Greater community integration was also noted, observing that the participatory budget is a useful instrument for optimizing the basic precepts of participatory democracy and the Democratic Rule of Law.   Research implications: By analyzing the experience of the Capital of Santa Catarina, it is expected to contribute significantly to the visualization of the potentialities and weaknesses of using the participatory budgeting institute in Brazilian municipalities, as an expression of participatory democracy and active citizenship at the local level.   Originality/value: The research is part of the study of practices for the consolidation of the Democratic State in Brazilian federalism and participatory democracy at the municipal level. The study is relevant not only for understanding participatory budgeting in the municipality of Florianópolis, as it provides support for reflecting on local democracy in Brazilian municipalities, as the debate regarding popular legitimacy in administrative decision-making has been growing.