2023 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

17th Edition

Phase 6 of 7

Publication Preparation 18/09/2023 - 06/11/2023

Process phases

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Posadas: Participatory Budget

Official proposal

06/06/2023 16:51

The Participatory Budget area of the city of Posadas-Misiones, Argentina, had its first experience in 2016, which took as a reference the work carried out by the Workers' Party of the city of Porto Alegre, where they created the Budget Program Participatory.

The Participatory Budget Coordination has been consolidated as a State Policy, where it has gone through several government efforts, and, in addition, it is found within the Organic Charter of the City.

However, the Participatory Budget is a tool that allows the full exercise of democracy through citizen participation through debate, agreements and the citizen vote as an instrument that enables them to decide on the investment of part of the municipal budget ( 1.5%).

The objectives of the area are to consolidate and strengthen the relationship between the Municipal State and Civil Society through participatory tools; promote the efficiency and transparency of the destination of public funds and municipal management actions through the direct participation of citizens in their distribution; generate democratic participation through debate, exchange and consensus of ideas through assemblies; promote citizen leadership in the strategic and territorial development of the city.

The city of Posadas has 11 Delegations, and in each one of them they integrate an important diversity of neighborhoods (more than 300) where the inhabitants present their Projects, with the requirement that they must accompany at least 10 people and 2 holders.

During the year 2022, 215 Projects were presented, of which 180 were viable, since the Social and Technical Team made the corresponding analysis. Later, these Projects go to a voting instance, where citizens can choose any of the existing proposals. The Project that has the most votes within its Delegation will be the winner, that is, 11 Projects are executed by choice of the citizen.

During that year, the total number of people who voted was 22,261. It should be noted that the City carries out other public works, but the Government offers this tool so that the inhabitants can design and decide on a Project that can be: Squares / parks, Equipment, Infrastructure, Urban trees.

Other data that demonstrates citizen participation and the impact of the area is that citizens have submitted 1,496 Projects, of which 94 were voted winners, while the participation was 96,165 inhabitants. On the other hand, it is a participatory and inclusive tool, due to the fact that more than 60% of the people who participate in the entire process are women, in addition, that in the last year the participation of young people has increased thanks to the implementation of the bimodality (face-to-face-virtual) to present and vote on the Projects.

When we talk about citizens' proposals, they must be supportive and require a good use of resources, promote positive cultural or environmental changes, good customs, reduce conflicts and better coexistence, require articulation, contribute to social inclusion and prioritize the principle of solidarity.