Radicals in Power: The Workers' Party and Experiments in Urban Democracy in Brazil [Paperback]

Gianpaolo Baiocchi (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1842771736 | ISBN-13: 978-1842771730 | Publication Date: October 17, 2003

Radicals in Power provides a rich and systematic account of the innovative redistributive democracy policies introduced in Brazil over the past 20 years by the Workers Party of Brazil (PT) at state level, in big city administrations, and medium-sized urban centers. Based on original field investigation, and with contributions both from scholars and active participants in the process, this volume provides a unique understanding of how a non-dogmatic leftwing political movement has instituted highly innovative experiments to involve ordinary citizens, especially the socially disadvantaged, in local policy choices and fiscal allocation decisions, as well as other experiments to achieve participation, social redistribution, and justice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an excellent book that everyone interested in Brazilian politics should read. It is a very useful compilation of articles written by very promising young scholars working both in Brazil and the United States. The book sheds light on important issues, such as participation in budget issues, administrative and tax reforms, the ups and downs of the Workers Party in the city of Sao Paulo, the emergence of participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre. The new Lula government poses new challenges for Brazil and Latin America. I recommend this book to everyone interested in the political history and trajectory of the Workers Party and local politics in Brazil and Latin America.' - Leonardo Avritzer, Professor of Political Science, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil 'Can the Brazilian Workers Party transform one of the world's largest democracies into a more just society? Radicals in Power is a timely, provocative book that provides one of the best possible empirical and analytical foundations for thinking about the historical process that has led people around the world to take this question seriously. This fresh and lively collection offers fascinating perspectives on the two decades of successes (and failures) in the archipelago of Workers Party state and local governments. They are consistently carefully researched and politically acute, sympathetic but dispassionate and, in combination, invaluable to anyone trying to understand possibilities for progressive politics in the 21st century.' - Peter Evans, University of California, Berkeley

About the Author

Gianpaolo Baiocchi is Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (October 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842771736
• ISBN-13: 978-1842771730
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)