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DE RUEHBR #0449/01 1041133
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R 141133Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4036
INFO RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 9363
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 3861
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7558
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000449 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA for WHA/EPSC and USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO ECON PREL SOCI BR
SUBJECT: BRAZILIAN CITY'S SOCIAL INCLUSION PROGRAMS MAY BECOME 
NATIONAL MODEL 
 
REF: 2008 Brasilia 1290 
 
BRASILIA 00000449  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
1.(SBU) SUMMARY:  Belo Horizonte, Brazil's sixth largest city and 
capital of the influential state of Minas Gerais, has a solid track 
record of innovative social inclusion programs in such areas as 
participatory budgeting, fighting hunger, improving favelas (slums), 
and increasing hours of learning for public school students. 
Newly-elected Mayor Marcio Lacerda is continuing and expanding these 
programs, which embody the theme of social inclusion and promoting 
human prosperity that will be discussed at the upcoming Summit of 
the Americas. Lacerda's victory also boosted Minas Gerais Governor 
and possible 2010 presidential contender Aecio Neves, himself a 
recognized innovator in governmental administration. In a country 
known for its inequality and poor government service, Belo 
Horizonte's innovative programs provide a model that both show-case 
the credentials of Neves and his supporters, may have implications 
for presidential politics and national program implementation. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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MODEL CITY PROGRAMS CONTINUE UNDER NEW MAYOR 
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¶2. (SBU) Capital of Minas Gerais, the second-most populous state 
with the third largest economy in Brazil, Belo Horizonte continues 
to pursue innovative social inclusion programs under newly elected 
Mayor Marcio Lacerda (PSB, center-left party in the governing 
coalition).  Lacerda is Belo Horizonte's first non-PT (leftist 
Worker's Party - the party of President Lula) mayor since 1993. 
Belo Horizonte is Brazil's sixth largest city, with a population of 
2.4 million inhabitants.  Rodrigo Perpetuo, the Municipal Secretary 
for International Affairs, told Charge D' Affaires Kubiske during a 
March 16 visit with Belo Horizonte APPoff (based in Brasilia), the 
history of innovation largely began under former PT Mayor and 
current Minister of Social Development and the Fight Against Hunger, 
Patrus Ananias de Sousa.  Ananias now runs the popular and 
innovative "Bolsa Familia" (family stipend) program that ties cash 
payments to poor families to children's school attendance and 
vaccines. Given that Belo Horizonte has a history of producing 
political leaders who rise to national level positions, such as 
former mayor Ananias and now possibly Governor and 2010 presidential 
contender Aecio Neves (PSDB, center-right party in opposition), 
these social programs may eventually see national promotion and 
implementation, especially since in Minas Gerais they enjoy broad 
political support, including from national rival parties the PT and 
Neves PSDB.  According to Perpetuo, the PT in Belo Horizonte has 
always valued "participatory democracy and social inclusion. " 
Mayor Lacerda, who was Neves' candidate for mayor (see reftel) 
continues to uphold these ideals, and Perpetuo believes that Belo 
Horizonte "is probably the big city in Brazil that values these 
principles the most," making it a potential model for the Summit of 
the America's theme of human prosperity. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Perpetuo also noted that that city is in a constant 
learning process as the city administration continually tests, 
re-designs and improves its programs, and that the city 
administration believes that it is developing models that perhaps 
can be modified for use elsewhere.  For example, Perpetuo pointed 
out that President Lula's recently launched favela (slum) 
improvement program that is part of his PAC (growth acceleration 
program) is largely based on favela improvement projects developed 
in Belo Horizonte.  Belo Horizonte's newly appointed Afro-Brazilian 
Municipal Secretary for Education, Macae Evaristo, also told APPoff 
that an integrated school program that lengthens the school day 
beyond the hours required is also cited as a model program by the 
Ministry of Education for other school districts that want to 
implement similar programs. The following highlights some of Belo 
Horizonte's most innovative programs. 
 
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ONLINE PARTICIPATORY CITY BUDGETING 
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¶4. (U) Belo Horizonte claims to be the first city in the world to 
have implemented a Digital Participatory Budget.   Belo Horizonte's 
original Participatory Budget program began in 1993 under then Mayor 
Patrus Ananias de Souza. Based on a list of projects defined by city 
officials, citizens are allowed to vote on which public work 
projects the city should implement.   In 2006, voting on the 
projects was conducted on-line for the first time, with the city 
making computers available in accessible locations to allow citizens 
without regular internet access to take part.  According to a report 
about the project issued by the city, in 2007-2008, the 172,938 
citizens who participated in the voting could choose from a list of 
36 works, four in each of the nine administrative regions of the 
city.  Voters could vote for one project in each zone, so that in 
 
BRASILIA 00000449  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
the end, nine projects would be chosen - one for each zone. 
Examples of projects chosen include:  renovation of a health center, 
creation of an ecological park, construction of a multi-use cultural 
space, and construction of a sports complex.  The report also notes 
that Belo Horizonte's Participatory Budget has been the subject of 
studies by the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and the 
Ford Foundation, among others. 
 
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SOCIAL PROGRAMS FIGHT HUNGER AND IMPROVE "FAVELAS" 
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¶5. (U) Belo Horizonte's anti-hunger programs, begun in the 1990's 
have helped farmers from surrounding areas gain access to prime city 
space to sell their produce directly to consumers at lower prices 
than found in retail food shops.  The city has also been active in 
promoting school and community vegetable gardens, which provide 
fresh produce for school lunches and are used to teach children 
about gardening. The program now includes 81 community and school 
gardens that benefit more than 35,000 people a year.  Another part 
of the anti-hunger program is four "Popular Restaurants" located 
throughout the city that are open to all citizens and which serve 
nutritious meals for one real (just under 50 cents) or less. (Note: 
See the  Spring, 2009 issue of Yes! Magazine article by Frances 
Moore Lappe for more information at: 
http://yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=3330.  End Note.) 
 
¶6. (U) Belo Horizonte's "Vila Viva" (Living Village) program to 
improve the city's estimated 200 "favelas" or slums and other 
low-income neighborhoods, aims to integrate the favelas with the 
rest of the city and keep families in their communities while 
improving the community's infrastructure and services, according to 
Perpetuo. Started in 2005, projects have included paving roads, 
improving sanitation and drainage to prevent flooding during heavy 
rainstorms, building apartments, upgrading schools, providing space 
for sports and recreation, and improving traffic flow through these 
communities.  Perpetuo noted that in one favela a street was 
lengthened to link the favela to another part of the city as a way 
of integrating the favela with the rest of the city - many motorists 
have been surprised, according to Perpetuo, to drive through a 
favela and come out the other side.  The program also aims to bring 
better social services to the favelas and to help create job 
opportunities. Funding for these programs has come from the 
Inter-American Development Bank, the Brazilian Development Bank 
(BNDES), Caixa Economica Federal (a federal bank), the Federal 
Government and the city itself. The city has also developed a 
partnership with the University of Michigan (U of M) College of 
Architecture and Urban Planning and recently a group of U of M 
students visited Belo Horizonte to do research on the Vila Viva 
program, looking particularly at water drainage projects. 
 
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EDUCATION: OFFERING MORE HOURS OF LEARNING, PROVIDING PRE-SCHOOL, 
AND IMPROVING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 
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¶7. (U) One of Belo Horizonte's most innovative programs of all is 
the Integrated School Program, created in response to the fact that 
schools can only provide two shifts of 4.5 hours a day of 
instruction for 7-14 year-olds who are enrolled in municipal 
schools. (High schools are run by each state, and obligatory 
education for children ages 7-14 is run by municipalities). 
Without space to lengthen the school day in the city's school 
buildings, the city has partnered with universities, cultural 
centers, non-profit organizations, sports clubs, churches, and 
others to offer 4.5 hours a day of additional learning outside the 
school building. For a small stipend, University students are hired 
and trained by the city to serve as teachers for the program. They 
teach foreign languages, Portuguese, math, science and other 
subjects.   The city also contracts with "community teachers" for 
classes in such areas as music, art, capoeira (Afro-Brazilian 
martial arts movement and dance).  Students go on field trips to the 
city's museums and other landmarks, and participate in sports 
activities.  The three main meals and two snacks the students 
receive during their nine-hour day assist their low-income parents. 
According to Perpetuo, the federal government pays for the meals for 
the children in the program, and the city pays the remaining program 
costs. 
 
¶8. (U) The program started as a pilot in 2007 and now includes 50 
schools and 15,000 of its 180,000 students (out of 220 schools and 
180,000 students).  Evaristo said the city hopes to double the 
program this year and that Mayor Lacerda wants to expand it to 
100,000 students by the end of his 4-year term in 2013.  According 
to Evaristo's office, a recent study has shown that schools 
participating in the Integrated School Program are getting better 
 
BRASILIA 00000449  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
test results than those that are not and anecdotal evidence suggests 
the students are much more motivated.  Perpetuo pointed out an 
additional benefit:  students are kept in a structured learning 
environment and off of the streets for about 1/3 the cost it would 
take to keep them in a school building for more hours per day. 
Evaristo noted that last year 14 public school students were 
murdered in Belo Horizonte, most of them due to their involvement in 
the drug trade, so keeping kids in a safe and structured environment 
more hours a day may prevent more of them from being drafted into 
drug trafficking. 
 
¶9. (U) The city also operates 47 centers for early childhood 
education (four months to five and a half years old), serving 13,000 
children, and also works with philanthropic organizations to provide 
day-care for 20,000 children at 192 locations for children up to the 
age of six.  These programs offer children early educational 
opportunities, while also providing free day-care for children whose 
parents need to work. According to Municipal Education Secretary 
Evaristo, the city has partnerships with France and Italy that 
support the early childhood education programs and provide teacher 
training. 
 
¶10. (U) In a partnership with post, the Bi-national Center (BNC) in 
Belo Horizonte, and Chicago Public Schools, Belo Horizonte is 
providing additional training to its English teachers to improve the 
quality of English taught.  Belo Horizonte's goal is to be better 
prepared in case it becomes a host city of the 2014 World Cup.  An 
ECA-funded English Language Fellow based at the BNC in Belo 
Horizonte provides training to municipal English teachers at the 
BNC, and the city will offer a short exchange with Chicago Public 
Schools to the most outstanding teachers participating in the 
program. 
 
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LACERDA AND NEVES: MORE INNOVATION, BUT FUTURE UNCERTAIN 
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¶11. (SBU) According to recent results from Datafolha, a respected 
Brazilian polling firm, Mayor Lacerda currently ranks in the middle 
of nine mayors of Brazil's largest cities in terms of approval 
ratings.  Tied for fourth, Lacerda had a 35% approval rating and a 
disapproval rating of 12%, with the remaining indicating they did 
not have an opinion.  There have been complaints about Lacerda's 
failure to deliver on campaign promises, such as a new metro system 
for the city.  He is, however, continuing the tradition of 
innovation. In a recent interview with the city's main daily 
newspaper, Estado de Minas, Lacerda indicated he would like to 
implement a merit pay system for city workers, similar to the 
innovative merit pay system the state of Minas Gerais has adopted 
for state workers under Governor Neves. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The election of Mayor Lacerda, Governor Neves' former 
State Secretary of Economic Development, was a victory for Neves in 
his bid to portray himself as a presidential candidate who can reach 
across party lines and produce innovative, result-oriented 
government services (see reftel). If Neves continues his candidacy, 
he may hold up his positive and productive relationships with Mayor 
Lacerda, along with the innovation in public services for which both 
the city of Belo Horizonte and the state of Minas Gerais are known, 
as reasons he should be his party's nominee and his country's next 
president. 
 
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COMMENT:  BELO HORIZONTE - INCUBATOR OF PROGRAMS AND POLITICIANS 
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¶13. (SBU) Belo Horizonte is playing an "incubator" role in producing 
both innovative social programs and politicians across the political 
spectrum whose rise to national prominence will be boosted by these 
programs. Social innovator and former Belo Horizonte Mayor Ananias' 
rise to head the ministry implementing President Lula's most 
innovative social programs suggests that others are aware of this 
role, as well.  Now, with support from the PT, PSB, and through 
Neves, the PSDB, there is a good chance that no matter who is 
elected president in 2010, some of the innovative ideas being put 
into practice in Belo Horizonte will be considered for 
implementation on a larger scale, as the next generation of Minas 
politicians rises to national positions. 
 
SOBEL