City of human rights The radical left government in the city of Porto Alegre is incorporating human rights questions into their pioneering system of direct democracy. Mark Johnson Over the last 10 years the city has pioneered a participatory budget process in which citizens debate and control municipal policies through open meetings in each neighbourhood. At the begining, human rights discussed each sector, separately and in plenary sessions. Participants identified the main demands of each sector, and the priorities in each area of municipal intervention. *Participants pressed us to transform human rights questions were not the council into an organ with power to integrated into the discussion. But control those sectors of government gradually the Workers Party (PT) which impact on human rights in the government recognised the demands widest sense. The city council cannot just coming from marginalised groups and point the finger at the state and federal organisations outside the participatory authorities which have the constitutional budget process. responsibility to protect human and civic
"Of course, it was never our intention rights. All government has an obligation to limit this process to discussion about to protect human rights." roads and schools, says city counsellor The Council was reorganised on a Helena Bonhumá. "But everything we territorial basis, ensuring representation are doing here is innovatory. And we in each of the city's 16 participatory didn't know how to introduce questions budget constituencies. "The idea became like human rights. But, as we gain confi- to combine work in each sector of human gover popul are so at on residi about prese expla to su agree local prosti
T cipal rights supp recer from towai disal disco betwi
Women Breaking the cycle Counsellor Helena Bonhumá outlines the impact of feminist ideas in the management of the city of Porto Alegre
At the beginning of the PT's second mandate in 1993, the party organised a city-wide Constituent assembly, to establish the priorities for the popular administration.
One of the elements of this Assembly was the launching of the "Porto Allegre for Women" programme. This identified 16 areas of concern to women: including work; creches; violence; and education.
The wide participation of popular organisations and specialists enabled the development of a diagnostic model. A smaller seminar assessed this raw information, and identified 12 International Viewpoint #313 July 1999 which have been awarded contracts for cleaning and other areas of service work in the municipality. We have also created clothes-making workshops, bakeries and other employment and training projects for women. We have begun to policies and key demands. These investigate non-traditional careers were presented to the Assembly. for women, including computer
We explained that discrimination studies and agriculture. and subordination are reproduced We would like to have more inin all areas of life, including urbani- come generation projects for sation, and participation in public women. But this is a disputed area. affairs. The city expresses all the The participatory budget meetings social relations existing in the urban invariably relegate these progspace. For example, 13% of men in rammes to the bottom of the list, Porto Allegre are unemployed, but and funds are severely restricted 18% of women. And 26% of We also lack a legal framework for women are heads of households positive compensatory projects.
Unless we introduce decisive As we go forward, we are trying counter-measures, discrimination to identify weaknesses like these, will be reproduced. We need to and introduce city-wide legislation break this cycle. To create new to correct them. habits and new spaces Curiously, there are no feminist
Wee need to include compensa- non-governmental organisations in tory measures into all areas of our Porto Alegre. The PT's only 'compework. So far, we have given a special titors' are some very conservative role to co-operatives of women, church groups.* poor: this c lised
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rights with work in each of the local networks of the participatory budget system. We want the participatory budget system to incorporate human rights
"Deepening direct democracy is an incredibly rich process. The role of the government and the PT is increasingly one of mediation between different vote for programmes that increase solidarity and social justice.
"I'm happy to say that our policy of putting full trust in the people has been vindicated. When we present the population with full information, and when they can see and feel that they genuinely control the city and its government, then, time and time again, they vote tor solidarity and tolerance." * * Helena Bonhumá has coordinated the city government's human rights work since 1994. She is also the coordinator of the women's work of the PT counsellor's sectors of the population, bringing them The people's government together to find solutions.
"Take the example of street children. These are clearly victims of Brazil's What about the police? terrible poverty and social inequality. But some of them are also criminals. And the people who participate in the participatory budget process are the poorer people of the town, those who are the main victims of violence. Not just police vioence, but violence within the poorer communities, where most crime happens.
"Our role as the PT, and as the government, is to build links within the population. It is a long process. But there are some positive examples. I remember at one participatory budget meeting, residents of a 'red light' zone protested about the noise and traffic caused by the presence of prostitutes. The prostitutes explained that they had to work in order to survive. We helped them find an agreement that reduces disruption for local people, without repressing the
The right wing parties in the municipal assembly have tried to use human rights to divide the PT's massive popular support. One conservative counsellor recently proposed transferring funds from programmes for street children towards programmes for the physically disabled. Bonhumá attacked "this discourse which makes a false distinction between deserving' and 'undeserving' poor; this obsession with security; and this deamonisation of the most marginalised groups in society."
By trying to reassert the city council's authority to amend the budget, the rightwing parties were also attacking the very basis of the participatory budget process. As Bonhumá explains, "in this town, city counsellors should just implement the decisions of the participatory budget process. It is for the society to decide about the relative importance of any two areas of government intervention.
"Any conflict, including the inevitable competition for resources, should be resolved through dialogue, not through a "divide and rule" strategy. The essence of our project is getting each sector to express its desires and needs, to understand the other groups in the population, and to
When they took power in Rio Grande do Sul state, the Workers Party accepted responsibility for managing the state's paramilitary police force. Mark Johnson reports
The Workers Party (PT) has always had a tense relationship with the police. Party leaders gained their spurs in the struggle against the dictatorship that established state police forces like Rio Grande's Brigada Militar.
According to Luis Felipe Nelsis of the vice-governor's office, come from a military state, where the police role was clear — repress the population. The Brigada Militar was a repressive body. It was concentrated in rich areas, to protect property, and absent from poorer areas, where criminals could act with impunity.
"But the gradual reforms of society, towards the rule of law, and constitutional protection of human rights, leave the police in a very contradictory position. Of course, the constitution is not respected, and there are high levels of police violence, but there is also a concern among policemen about their role.
"There has been a real evolution in the thinking of many police officers. The development of a critical analysis of their own role. Some officers told us that their constitutional role of defending the state prevents them from guaranteeing the real security of the demonstrated in protest against non-payment of wages. President Cardoso promised wide reaching reforms. But it now seems that what he really wants is to transfer powers away from the existing police bodies, so as to reduce the threat of militant activity. Some powers will be transferred to new police bodies. But many areas of civic security will simply be privatised. The police will concentrate on protecting the state, while private security companies will increasingly police the richer residential and
According to Nelsis, the Workers Party government in Rio Grande do Sul is determined to reform the paramilitary Brigada Militar, and put police matters firmly within the framework of the participatory budget system.
"We want a thorough retraining of the police, and redeployment evenly across the state, to ensure that all areas have an equal level of policing. We will also be completely determined to root out and punish cases of police brutality and corrup-
"Previous administration didn't hesitate to use the police to repress strikers and demonstrations. There will be no return to those practices, even if sections of the population or the public sector workforce enter into conflict with the popular government."
Nelsis is not worried that the Brigada Militar will try to paralyse or destabilise the PT government. "The base of the police is PTista The officers can't influence this. The police can't be politically active, but there have been demonstrations of policemen's spouses, and even of masked policemen, demanding improved working conditions, wage rises, and the right to trade union organisation. There have been discussions with the PT and the CUT trade union federation.
"Many policemen don't see why they should be obliged to repress the workers. By introducing democratic rights within the police, we will be able to increase this consciousness among police of their civic
"This division within the Brigada Militar makes us convinced that we can implement a thorough reform of the police, and that the officer corps will not be able to block or sabotage us." But he warns that "This is probably not the case in other parts of Brazil, even where the PT is strong."*
International Viewpoint #313 July 1999 13