This article discusses the possibilities of the Participatory Budget (PB) to expand the democratization of the public management and to effectively intervene in the allocation of municipal resources. It starts from the theory of the participatory democracy and the from PB's history in Brazil to analyze the experience of Vitória da Conquista, Bahia. Using documentary research, interviews, direct observation and questionnaires to the delegates of the IX Congress of Vitória da Conquista PB (2011), we conclude in this article that this experience partially contributed to the democratization of the municipal management, since it was not considered a forum of effective participation of the population in the definition of public policies and in the application of municipal resources.
participatory budget; participatory democracy; municipal management