We explain what citizen participation is, its mechanisms and why it is important. Also, examples from recent history.
What is citizen participation?
In public politics and management, social participation or citizen participation is the active intervention of organized citizens in decision-making and management of public resources and other issues that impact their own lives. This is carried out in accordance with the State, through democratic mechanisms that collect the popular voice and make it known to the respective levels of government.
It is a legitimate right of the inhabitants of a democratic nation, which however can be approached from very different theoretical perspectives. But in general, It is linked both to the control of public management and to responsibility in making political decisions .
This means that the more involved and active citizens are in the exercise of political power, the greater the amount of control they will have over the way in which the latter is exercised, and the greater responsibility they will have in making decisions in this regard.
For citizen participation It is essential that citizens are organized, informed and committed to their improvement the complete opposite of what is traditionally known as abstentionism, that is, as political apathy and disinterest in the functioning of society.
Apathetic citizens do not usually get involved in the functioning of their democracies, and are conducive to the increase in corruption, authoritarianism and the separation of the exercise of politics from the real needs of citizens.
Importance of citizen participation
Citizen participation is key when it comes to promote responsibility in the exercise of politics both on the part of the representatives elected to act according to the voice of the people, and in the latter, who express their decisions through voting in consultations, referendums or elections.
In fact, governments with low or no citizen participation can act freely, engage in corruption with impunity or distance their policies from the real needs of the people, which usually leads to fruitless governments, incapable of providing well-being to the people.
Organization and citizen participation It is key to improving the relationship between citizens and rulers, legitimizing the action of the latter and strengthening the democratic exercise and republican, reducing corruption rates (and impunity) and guaranteeing compliance with Human Rights.
Citizen participation mechanisms
In general, the concept of citizen participation is associated with the idea of direct democracy, in which the people play an active role in public decision-making, either through public consultations or the formation of citizen organizations and councils. communities versus public organizations. In general, this means that citizens have access to the following participation mechanisms:
- Law initiatives or popular initiatives which are formal proposals for the promulgation or repeal of norms, measures or laws that citizens can make to their representatives before the legislative branch, that is, to their deputies.
- Referendums A referendum is a popular consultation that is carried out by voting, with the purpose of the people approving or disapproving some legal text, such as regulations or laws.
- Plebiscites Direct consultations with citizens regarding a matter of great importance for public life.
Examples of citizen participation
Some examples of citizen participation are:
- In the Argentine city of Rosario the government proposed as part of a Comprehensive Mobility Plan the total ban on cars entering the city center. The dissatisfied citizens organized to reject this proposal through a popular vote, which was ultimately not included in the definitive Plan.
- At the end of the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet in Chile a national plebiscite was held in 1988, in which citizens were consulted whether or not the military leader should continue in power until 1997. Despite the climate of persecution that existed and the investment of public resources in the campaign for the “Yes”, organized citizens expressed themselves massively for the “No”, winning with 54.71% of the votes.
- In Argentina, during the Liberating Revolution of 1957 the ruling military junta repealed the current Constitution and proposed to reform the previous one as it pleased. For this purpose, elections were called, prohibiting the participation of Peronism, whose militants decided to vote blank, achieving the majority of null votes with 25% of the total vote and demonstrating the illegitimacy of any attempt at constitutional change on the part of the rulers. .
References
- “Citizen participation” in Wikipedia.
- “Citizen participation” in the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of Chile.
- “Citizen participation and education. A broad view and 20 experiences in Latin America” by Rosa María Torres at the Organization of American States (OAS).
- “Citizen participation in democracy” by Mauricio Merino at the Federal Electoral Institute (Mexico).
