WEBVTT

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Previously on life… Cities
become the strategic places

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where the powerless with the
disadvantaged can actually engage power.

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The poor of the cities, they are
not just a passive objects.

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Most often they are solving all other problems.
If we have a competent administration

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that really cares for the
people we can do it.

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[sil.]

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[music]

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Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul is
Brazil\'s second most important in (inaudible).

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[music]

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Its 1.3 million citizens come from
a wide variety of backgrounds.

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With the fastest growing economy in Brazil the
state of Rio Grande do Sul attracts immigrants

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from many other poorer regions of the country
becoming such of work and a better future.

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Rio Grandeners are famous for
their entrepreneurial skills.

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They\'re known as gaúchos because at least initially
the basis of their wealth was cattle ranching.

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Gaúcho traditions from accordion music
and baggy pants to drinking maté

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a proudly maintained.

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Rio Grande do Sul has a history
of fierce independence

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including a breakaway movement to form a
separate nation. The region was settled by waves

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of German and Italian immigrants
including in the twentieth century

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many anarchists sowing the
seeds of community activism.

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[music]

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In Porto Alegre even the homeless
have their own pressure group

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so perhaps it\'s not surprising that
Porto Alegre is also the birthplace

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of an extraordinary experiment
in direct democracy.

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It\'s known as participatory budgeting,
it\'s been copied in various forms

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in almost a hundred other
Brazilian cities today.

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Tarso Genro is Porto Alegre\'s mayor.

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It\'s his second term of office since 1989
when the popular front to progressive parties

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won the municipal elections and introduce
the participatory budgeting scheme.

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Over the last thirteen years

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the scheme has been continuously
added to and improved.

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The first thing the population votes on

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is the internal budget the salaries and the
running costs of the town whole machine.

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Of course voting on
salaries and running costs

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is really more or less a formality
because they are fixed by law.

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Where the arguments begin is over
the money set aside for investment

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about 15 to 20 percent of our
budget depending on the year

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to be used for new works and
special services linked to them.

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Competition for this money is
fierce within the community

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because we receive about
1300 demands each year

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and can only satisfy between
300 and 350 of them.

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[music]

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This is the story of three of the people

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who became involved in the
Porto Alegre experiment.

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Their lives in neighborhoods have been
profoundly changed by the experience.

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Rolf Naumann often speaks German at home
with his wife and ecologist daughter.

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Now retired he devotes much of his energy

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to worrying about the
city\'s transport system.

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Angelica Mirinha is a single mother

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before to improve conditions in her shanty town
she\'s moved through the ranks of the budget process

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from local delegate to her present
job as a political organizer.

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Marli Medeiros was born in poverty
and brought up four daughters

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and an adopted son mainly on her own.

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Marli is the driving force behind the environmental,
educational, rubbish recycling center

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and has become the uncrowned
Queen of (inaudible).

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[non-English narration]

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This is Vila pinto, one of Porto
Alegre poorest neighborhoods

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and until recently one of its most violent.

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In 1994, its main economy was drug
dealing nobody dared go out after 7 pm,

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51 rapes were reported that year.

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Six years later a dramatic change has
taken place. There were no reported rapes

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in the year 2000 and things were
a great deal more peaceful.

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This was mainly thanks to a thriving rubbish recycling
center which offers a genuine economical alternative

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to the people of Vila pinto.

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Over two thirds of the workforce is female.

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Vila pinto has 23,000 inhabitants

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and according to the statistics it was
Latin America\'s second worst slum area.

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When I discovered this I
decided to take a closer look

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I felt I had a duty to
change this situation.

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I felt ashamed of living in a community
which was on the road over as a slum.

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[non-English narration]

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The misery was due to the fact that this
neighborhood was controlled by drug dealers

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and as far as they are concerned the worst things are the
harder it is to get access the better it is for them.

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We had no proper roads

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so even the police couldn\'t get in

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The rubbish recycling center has
grown from strength to strength.

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Each week\'s work begins with a communal prayer to ask for
help with problems and to give thanks for all the good things

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that have begun to happen.

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[sil.]

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[music]

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On the other side of town in a very middle class
neighborhood Rolf passes by his old business premises

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where he still keeps an office.

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[non-English narration]

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I got involved because we had environmental
problem in our neighborhood.

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There were several restaurants (inaudible)

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which are open till
(inaudible) of the morning.

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[non-English narration]

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s They were very noisy very loud with
a lot of a very excited young people.

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[non-English narration]

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Sold residents decided to get
together and to do something about it

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and we were advised that the best way

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to get it to council to act was through
the participatory budgeting process.

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[non-English narration]

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And that\'s when I discovered that this
existence and people were interested.

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There was a real solidarity and so I got
enthusiastic and began to take part.

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[sil.]

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There are pockets of poverty
all over Porto Alegre.

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Sometimes in quite wealthy
areas like Angelica\'s

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but the budgeting process has a policy
of rebuilding slums right where they are

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rather than exiling poor residents
to the outskirts of town.

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[non-English narration]

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Yes, my own house and (inaudible) were
all part of that policy in that struggle

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because this is essential as smart neighborhood so
it was very much coveted by the property developers.

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They would have lied to use
this land for big developments

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which would give them big profits.

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[music]

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Property speculation is rife in a city
like Porto Alegre but we wonder why

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to go on living if this
is smart neighborhood

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because we are citizens too.

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[music]

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We began with our own individual demands

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a house of our own in our own neighborhood. But
this process needed to become a collective one

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to make us stronger to defend our case.

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[non-English narration]

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So joining up with other poor neighborhoods
was very important to create a strong group

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and to learn all about town planning regulations
discuss things design a good project

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and move ahead with our struggle.

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Because of all the experience I got

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first as a community delegate then
a counselor learning to stand up

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for my demands my neighborhood
my district I came to understand

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what working as a community
coordinator means.

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Taking part in the participatory budgeting system
as a district coordinator is a gratifying job

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because of the results you get but
it depends a lot on your dedication

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in your efforts to get other people to fight
for the things which you have already won

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and that you know can be won by them too.

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While Angelica was helping people
fight for slum clearance projects

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Marli needed to find a way of empowering women
and ending the cycle of violence against them.

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[non-English narration]

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The drug dealers used and abused their
women. When the police made a raid

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the women had to hide the drugs in their
bags so that when the men were searched

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they had nothing on them.

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And the women and children were at their back end
call and if they didn\'t want to get involved

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they were beaten up they had no choice
but to do what the men told them.

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Of course this was not the
case for the majority

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but a lot of women had to carry out this task.
They were at the men\'s mercy and the men felt that

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since they were supporting them
financially they owned them.

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So they handed out food
and also the odd beating.

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[sil.]

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A local government known as popular democracy
was in power and a revolutionary process

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called participatory budgeting
had been introduced.

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You could put forward your demands and
discuss them with people from all over.

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When I went to see the mayor

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and told him I wanted to set up a project here he set me a challenge he told me
he doubted I could get people to change from drug dealing to rubbish recycling.

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[sil.]

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[music]

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But he said that if I could attract
more supporters for my project

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he would study it carefully.

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Right away I set up a project
capable of bringing in

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the same level of returns as drug dealing.

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For many years the priority
was for basic sanitation

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in other years the priority was placing
roads or housing It all depends on

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what the most pressing social problems are in a particular
year and also on the group of people who have attended

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the popular assemblies what they
want determines future investments.

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Once a year

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neighbors from the sixteen city districts get a
chance to lobby for their own local projects.

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The budget skiing devices
seated in to sixteen districts

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and each district has four community
councilors and four delegates.

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The delegates are elected at
two big annual assemblies

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with the first and the second round.

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In the first round of assemblies one community
delegate is elected for every ten people who turn out.

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He or she has to take part
in weekly district meetings

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to establish what the local demands are.

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In the delegate guests to understand the process
better both by taking part in the local meetings

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and also in the seminars held
for delegates and councilors.

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[non-English narration]

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Debates can get very heated.
Anyone can have three minutes

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to put their case. People quickly realized

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this helps them have a real say
in improving their own lives.

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But where does it lead the
elected city councils.

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The city council loses
none of its prerogatives

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it continues with all its usual quote of
responsibilities and in the final analysis

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it is the city council which
decides on the municipal budget.

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But don\'t forget it takes this decision in the full knowledge
of what the community wants and if it goes against them

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it will be punished and
councilors won\'t get reelected.

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[music]

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It\'s a system

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probably the most efficient one which enables
citizens to take part in life of their city.

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The way in which they can influence things

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and even in the case of this participatory
budget system decide about investments

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decide what happens to the money which
in the final analysis we are al paying.

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[sil.]

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As well as providing a livelihood
for 230 residents of Vila pinto,

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the recycling center is attracting
funding for other community projects.

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The income from drug dealing is immediate.

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You hand the stuff over they
give you cash in return

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but rubbish… rubbish also brings
in a totally guaranteed return.

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Today it\'s the raw material with
the surest economic return of all.

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There is an endless supply of it
it\'s a serious environmental problem

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which can always be converted in to
income by this kind of community

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and you don\'t need any complex technology
to separate it and recycle it.

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[music]

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You got to do a lot of work with your
people. People used to say to me

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Marli what are you up to sorting rubbish or having meetings. So
I would say if you want to make a good job of recycling rubbish

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you\'ve got to recycle
the human beings first.

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[sil.]

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In addition to the council of
neighborhood representatives

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the budgeting scheme introduces special plan
arrays. Their role to debate and monitor projects

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that affected not just one individual
neighborhood but the whole city.

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[non-English narration]

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Yes I got involved six years ago and
I was elected the community delegate

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about the time when the
ring road project came up.

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This was the city\'s most
important transport project

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as well as being the largest
and the most costly.

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And the ring road passes exactly

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fifty meters from my home.

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The ring road goes from the airport
to the sudden part of town.

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If I am not mistaken a length
of thirteen kilometers.

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It is sixty meters wide with one
very important characteristic

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it has a bus lane.

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[non-English narration]

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Porto Alegre decided that in the best
way to solve the transport problem

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and to the constrict traffic was to
improve public transport services.

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[sil.]

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The ring road project is well underway.

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City projects like this are now supervised by community
delegates. They also vet all Porto Alegre\'s income

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and expenditure figures. This
makes corruption and kickbacks

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almost impossible. As civil engineering contracts
are a magnet for corruption the world over

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this is a major breakthrough.

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Every project designated as a priority

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in a specific forum. In this case it is
special issue of committee on transport

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is followed by works commission.

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According to budget and system rules the
works commission needs to stand up plans

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before do work itself can begin.
It then oversees the work

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from the day the contract is
signed rank it through to the end.

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[music]

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This neighborhood has fought
for four years to get funds

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for a major road widening scheme.

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So despite the downpour when the mayor
finally comes to sign the works contract

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he receives an enthusiastic welcome.

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Local priorities though don\'t always
coincide with the town halls plans

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as mayor Tarso is quick to concede.

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During our first year in government we the town
hall defended the idea of making public transport

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an investment priority but
we received a dowsing,

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
we lost completely because the community decided
that weighing in front of transport came

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community road paving and sanitation.

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We thought that the people were much
more worried about public transport

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but they weren\'t despite the crisis in public transport
which we inherited from previous government.

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So over town hall argues the point and
makes proposals for all the works but

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if these are defeated then the
works simply isn\'t commissioned.

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[music]

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[non-English narration]

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If (inaudible) fails to realize that
they has to fight to improve things

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then poor conditions
like these will remain.

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Housing, health, employment

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and social problems don\'t improve.

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Often it\'s because people are disheartened
because of all the false hopes

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and broken promises from the populace
(inaudible) politicians of all day.

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[non-English narration]

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But I think that now this area has got
its residents association going again

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with a new president a woman who has
clear ideas about residents right.

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I think they can put up a good fight
to win funding to rebuild their homes

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and have a better life ahead of them.

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[music]

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The recycling center has only achieved this degree of success
because Porto Alegre has selective rubbish collection.

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
If this selective rubbish
collection didn\'t exist

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
we would be back to sorting through the rubbish dump like in the old
days and that\'s where real violence against the human spirit begins

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
so today when people ask me what\'s
the first thing you need in a city

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
to be able to set up a place
like the recycling center

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
the first thing is selective
rubbish collection.

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:33.000
[music]

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
I believe that the whole
world has to realize

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
that if we don\'t look after the rubbish,
if we don\'t give it the proper treatment

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
we\'re going to continue to contaminate our planet
selective rubbish connection is absolutely essential.

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:58.000
[music]

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
Our fight is directed against

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
the negative effects of the economic
system social exclusion violence

00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
unemployment and the extreme poverty
we are fighting the effects

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
but we don\'t have the powers to attack the causes.
It isn\'t up to us to decide on the interest rates

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
or the way federal taxes are raised.

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
It isn\'t up to us to decide on the economic
model which now favors financial speculators

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
instead of encouraging investment in production
to generate jobs and social integration.

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
It is now up to us to decide on major public
works which generate economic activity

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
wealth and infrastructure and
help the country develop.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
This is all beyond our control.

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
What we control is the
fight against the effects

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
but we needed to take this fight seriously.

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
We need to turn it into a fight for a different kind of
country with a different form of income distribution.

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
In the final analysis

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
a society where the outstanding
characteristics are solidarity and equality

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
instead of social exclusion
and exploitation.

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
Porto Alegre has become a reference point

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
not because it solved all its social problems
although we\'ll continue to fight to resolve them

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
it\'s become a reference point
for its capacity to resist

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
and this capacity to resist is down to you.

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
You are the ones who have created
this capacity for resistance.

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
You are running the participatory budget

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
you be top of critical community
which is permanently in action

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
calling the government to account
and even deciding on policies.

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:13.000
[music]