Una nueva cultura política: un caso de presupuesto participativo

Abstract

It is important for a city like Barranquilla (Colombia) to make use of some Latin American experiences linked to the participation and democracy binomial, and, at the same time, to refer them to the political culture of cities. One of theses attempts is that which corresponds to studies on these themes carried out by academic institutions. This paper aims to make evident that a political process of reconstruction of the city has begun since 1992. This process has included the fighting against poverty, corruption, and the opening to democratic participation of citizens in the formulation of the development plan and investment program, which have stimulated the renewal of the city. The background has been favorable to re-discover the keys which have facilitated both the modernizing local process and its weaknesses in the political culture. The figure of Chiñoño Botines summarizes greatly this contrast. Similarly, the implementation of an alternative project, "The Participating Budget", has permitted a re-conceptualization of the social-political way of life to the local and surrounding locations.

Under these conditions, a project of participating budget was presented to the second reconstruction local government. This project was brought about from other popular "alcaldías" experiences in some Latin-American cities whose features are similar to those of Barranquilla, such as Porto Alegre, Brazil. The application of this project in Barranquilla gives rise to new possibilities of governments centered in strengthening the people power, and as result, it makes possible the existence of stable governments supported by the social participation. This is shown by the findings of this study.