Paulo Haddad argues in favor of reconsidering the investment priorities of public funds in Brazil in the light of the severe economic crisis under way as well as in the effects derived from the traditionally large projects favored by public administrators in the near past. They tend to show a certain oversize in terms of the great opportunity to discuss openly investment priorities and in this discussion participation of the population seems essential even in this country where such tradition almost does not exist. The author presents a way of implementing a participative planning process in the country, which takes into consideration the experiences that have been implemented in recent years pointing out the importance of informal organizations in this process.