Society in Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre is a city with a majority of European immigrants. It has a long left-wing tradition in politics and is also an important base for the currently ruling Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT).

In the late 1980s, the Brazilian Workers' Party won the city's election and began a series of social reforms centered on expanding citizen participation and reducing social exclusion. These measures are called "Radicalization of Democracy", among which "participatory budgeting" is very famous internationally and has been evaluated by the United Nations as "one of the most innovative measures to ensure management transparency."

These reforms have made the city one of the few cities in Brazil where the gap between rich and poor is small. This is one of the reasons why the World Social Forum chose this city as its venue.