Participatory Democracy and Public Administration: A Study of the Budget Experience of the State of Piauí

Abstract

This article analyses the experience of participatory planning in Piauí, an instrument created in 2007 to increase the participation of civil society in defining the state's public policies. The study has two central arguments. First, the great dependence of Piauí on the resources of the federal government leaves little room for the formulation of specific public policies, hindering the implementation of policies considered to be priorities by the civil society, which participates in assemblies and councils that compose the participatory planning of the state. Second, despite the creation of the participatory institution within the state's executive branch, we observed a lack of planning by the government in accommodating the demands of the population. The state's departmentalised administrative structure inhibits communication between departments for the implementation of integrated policies.

Theoretical Perspectives on Bureaucrats: A Quest for Democratic Agents

“…Such bureaucrats' roles are expected to be played within informal, empowered participatory governance or democratic innovations (Baiocchi, 2001;Fung, 2003Fung, , 2006Fung & Wright, 2003;Papadopoulos & Warin, 2007;Thompson, 1995). As heavy weight has been put on social administration (Souza & Menezes, 2013), critics have pointed at unrealistic expectations that lead to bureaucrats only providing information rather than engaging the broader public (Dudley et al, 2018).…”