Urban Brazil: Visions, Afflictions, and Governance Lessons By Iva ...

This question has a pressing prominence in Brazil, where an atmosphere of widespread pessimism prevails regarding the quality of governance at both the federal and local levels. To a large extent, democratization in Brazil has not increased government efficacy. Political pluralism, free elections, and the benefits of a free press have not led elected and nonelected public officials to govern better, and a devoted commitment to the public good is still rare in Brazil. Thus far, the empowerment of local governments—the by-product of democratization that raised hopes for improved provision of public services in urban Brazil—is far from meeting its expectations.

During my field research, this disregard for the public good was nowhere more conspicuous than in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, and similar to Curitiba, a state capital. While working in São Paulo in the early 2000s, I observed a Latin American metropolis in shambles, facing an unpre­cedented political and administrative chaos that was the culmination of decades of mismanagement and damaging policies. Garbage collections were routinely suspended, municipal health services had collapsed, the city’s few green areas had been transformed into trash fields, and the public transportation system was in complete disarray. The situation was so depressing that radio talk show commentators were thanking God for the imminent departure of Mayor Celso Pitta, who concluded his term in disgrace amid charges of influence peddling and the use of public office for personal benefits.