Digitalization of Participatory Budgeting in the context of the pandemic: The cases of San Lorenzo and Vicente López in Argentina

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted several digitalization processes of the Participatory Budgeting (PB) that were previously carried out in-person at the municipal level. In Argentina, the cases of San Lorenzo and Vicente López stand out. The hypothesis of this article maintains that the digitalization of the Argentine PBs constituted an on-the-fly adaptation and that this forced digital turn affected the inclusive and deliberative nature of PBs. To collect the information, the research resorted to documentary analysis (of the material created by the municipalities themselves for dissemination, their regulations, platforms, and projects) and to in-depth interviews with the municipal officials in charge of PB.