In this paper I discuss Porto Alegre's experience under sixteen years of governance by the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker's Party, PT). The centerpiece of the four successive PT municipal administrations was the Orçamento Participativo (Participatory Budget, OP), an open and consultative process that allocated the municipal investment budget (which ranged from 2 to 15 percent of the total municipal budget). Most descriptions of the PT in Porto Alegre have focused on the internal structures of the OP and the OP's implications for citizenship. Instead, I argue that it is necessary to disaggregate the concept of "government" in order to understand the outcomes and implications of the four successive PT administrations. The municipal line agencies were critical to the success of, and were transformed by, the OP. I conclude my paper with a more general discussion of progressive governance and the construction of narratives.