The city of Porto Alegre in Brazil has adopted the system of popular participation in the definition of public investment. It has successfully combined decentralization with participative democracy. This process in public administration is called the Participatory Budget. Participatory budgeting is a process of democratic deliberation and decision-making, in which ordinary people decide how to allocate part of a municipal or public budget. Participatory budgeting allows citizens to identify, discuss, and prioritize public spending projects, and gives them the power to make real decisions about how money is spent. The first full participatory budgeting process was developed in the city starting in 1989. Participatory budgeting in its most meaningful form took place in the city from 1991 to 2004.
