Democratic participation in decision making and the Statute for the Cities

Abstract

The article examines a series of ideas as to democracy and the governing of cities in the light of a new model for this here called ‘gobernanza democratica’. At first sight, I appears for the author that Brazil is bringing forth a novel culture marked by the scope of those social rights enshrined in her 1988 Constitution and the participating in matters public of a plurality of social agents. From the 90s of the last century to date both the exercise of state power and the initiatives of these new social agents have brought about a shake up in the methods and procedures of decision making giving rise in turn to the appearance of a new de-centralised form of public intervention offering new channels and social participation mechanisms for decision sharing as between the State and Society, first among these being the Councils for Governance(Consejos de Gestion) AS to the governing of her cities, the passing of the Statute for the Cities in 2001 and the setting up if the Ministry for the Cities consolidated and strengthened the role of the city councils in their proper planning and administration. Considering the old and new ways of tackling these responsibilities, the paper argues for the need to make the most of these fresh opportunities for public participation in decision making to thus further and better the implementing of the Statute for the Cities and thus democratic institutions as a whole.