Reflections on local participatory democracy in Latin America

Abstract

This work presents reflections on the field of participatory democracy in Latin America, based on the analysis of the experiences of Cotacachi in Ecuador, and Torres in Venezuela, which are examples of great popular participation at the local level. The study proposes to interpret the experiences from a Latin American point of view, considering the singularities of each municipality analyzed. The aim is to identify which factors contribute to the emergence and consolidation of mechanisms of participation in the public policy decision-making process. In order to approximate the democratic theory of the context of Latin America, the study presents an analysis structured in two relevant concepts for the theory: agency and public space. These concepts were essential to identify which factors allowed the creation and consolidation of practices of participatory democracy at the local level. The analysis of the experiences resulted in a list of seven factors that were fundamental for their advancement and diffusion, factors that may represent important guidelines for the development of new democratic practices in countries of the region. Finally, the study present some reflections on the challenges that must be overcome to expand the local power and popular participation in Latin America.