A complex paper-based city tax collection system made Rio de Janeiro a difficult environment for business and a source of lost revenue when Eduardo Paes became mayor in 2009. Elected on a promise to set the city’s fiscal house in order, Paes planned to implement an electronic invoicing system based on similar programs piloted in other Brazilian cities. A recent constitutional amendment required all levels of Brazil’s federal system of government to ease the burdens of the country’s tax system. Paes reasoned that the potential efficiency gain from a new system was among the few routes available for increasing revenue. His team had to overcome significant challenges to implement the new system and ensure participation by consumers in monitoring tax payments. Strong political and technical leadership, collaboration, and good design helped to successfully implement the new system, called Nota Carioca. This case study offers other governments at the national or subnational levels useful lessons in improving revenue administration and implementing reforms that feature information technology, stakeholder communication, and partnerships.
 
Neil Fowler drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in March 2014. The case was prepared by ISS in partnership with the World Bank as part of the Bank’s Science of Delivery initiative. Case published July 2014.

A once proud city, Bogotá was on the verge of ruin by the late 1980s. Its government was corrupt and dysfunctional, and the Colombian city regularly ranked among the worst places in the world in which to live. In 1986, then-president and former Bogotá Mayor Virgilio Barco lamented that “of that booming city that I governed, today all that is left is an urbanized anarchy, tremendous chaos, immense disorder, a colossal mess.” Beginning in 1992, however, Bogotá enjoyed a string of mayors who succeeded in turning the city around. The first of these mayors, Jaime Castro (1992-1994), fought to establish the financial and political framework that would empower the mayor’s office to function as a nucleus of reform. Castro’s successor, Antanas Mockus (1995-1997 and 2001-2003), built on that legacy, consolidating gains in the face of entrenched opposition on the city council and bringing tangible benefits to the population in the form of exemplary public-service delivery. By 2002, the United Nations had selected Bogotá as a “model city” to be emulated across Latin America and by early 2010, Mockus had emerged as a front-runner in Colombia’s presidential elections.

Matthew Devlin and Sebastian Chaskel drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Colombia during October and November 2009.

Associated Interview(s):  Jaime Castro Castro,  Liliana Caballero, Maria Isabel Patiño

GENERAR Y CONSOLIDAR UNA VUELTA DE PÁGINA: GOBERNABILIDAD EN BOGOTÁ, 1992-2003

SINOPSIS: La otrora ciudad imponente, hacia fines de los años '80 Bogotá se encontraba al borde de la ruina. El gobierno distrital se caracterizaba por la corrupción y el mal funcionamiento, y la capital colombiana frecuentemente se ganaba un lugar en el ranking mundial de los peores lugares para vivir. En 1986, el antiguo alcalde de la capital y por ese entonces presidente Virgilio Barco se lamentó, "De la ciudad vibrante que yo goberné, hoy sólo queda una anarquía urbana, un caos tremendo, un desorden inmenso, un desastre colosal." Sin embargo, a partir de 1992 Bogotá tuvo la suerte de tener una serie de alcaldes que consiguieron pasar la página en la historia de la ciudad. El primero de aquellos alcaldes, Jaime Castro (1992-94), luchó para establecer la infraestructura financiera y política que le otorgaría a la Alcaldía el poder para funcionar como un núcleo de reforma. El sucesor de Castro, Antanas Mockus (1995-97 y 2001-03), siguió construyendo sobre los cimientos legados por su predecesor, y así consolidó victorias a pesar de la oposición profundamente arraigada del Concejo de la Ciudad, trayendo beneficios tangibles para la población en la forma de mejoras en la prestación de servicios públicos. Al llegar el año 2002, las Naciones Unidas habían seleccionado a Bogotá como una ciudad modelo a ser emulada a través de Latinoamérica, y para comienzos del año 2010, Mockus había surgido como un candidato formidable a la presidencia colombiana. Matthew Devlin y Sebastian Chaskel redactaron este estudio practico basado en entrevistas que se llevaron a cabo en Colombia, en octubre y noviembre del 2009. El caso fue publicado en diciembre del 2010. Melina Meneguin-Layerenza tradujo este estudio en febrero de 2013.

Matthew Devlin y Sebastian Chaskel redactaron este estudio practico basado en entrevistas que se llevaron a cabo en Colombia, en octubre y noviembre del 2009. El caso fue publicado en diciembre del 2010. Melina Meneguin-Layerenza tradujo este estudio en febrero de 2013.
 

Beginning in the late 1980s, Rio de Janeiro suffered increasing urban violence as the drug trade moved south from the Caribbean.  The favelas, shantytowns and slums on the hillsides surrounding Brazil's second-largest city, saw a rise in both inter-gang violence and clashes between police and drug traffickers.  Innocent bystanders often died in the crossfire.  In 2007, working with the support of the governor, the state's secretary for public security, José Mariano Beltrame, and his colleagues tried a new approach.  Instead of repeated military-style interventions to oust the traffickers, Beltrame created the Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora  (UPP, or Peace Police Unit), to provide a continuous police presence and help extend the reach of the government into contested areas.  Beltrame's team rolled out the program on a pilot basis and identified communities where early success would boost the image of the government in the eyes of Rio's population.  This case study outlines the development of the new approach, the problems encountered in implementation, and some of the results from the pilot program's opening months. 

Richard Bennet drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August and September 2010. Case published December 2010.

Associated Interview(s):  Silvia Ramos, Luiz Eduardo Soares