How can the private sector be integrated into participatory budgeting?
Up to now, the participation of the formal private sector in Participatory Budgets has been limited. Nevertheless, in several cities the formal private sector or particular businesses have a voice and sometimes a vote in decision-making spaces regarding the budget. In this vein, the industrial, commercial, and service sectors are part of the Congress of the City in Belem, with three of the 50 representatives. The water and sanitation company (SAAE) has a delegate in the Municipal Participatory Budget Forum in Icapui. Santo Andre, located in the industrial heart of the metropolitan region of São Paulo, invited representatives from the petrochemical and metallurgical sectors to participate in the long-term strategic planning process, called “City of the Future”. Today, these actors, organized through a commission, have a voice and vote in the Participatory Budget Committee of the city.
