Democratic innovation in Latin America: A first look at the Democratic Participatory Project

Abstract

In this paper, we present an analysis of the democratic-participatory project in Latin America. This project is not a standardized and uniform discourse nor an explicit set of practices and institutions, but rather a collection of principles, ideas, practices and institutions that –at an experimental level – have been fought for and achieved in different Latin American countries. Experiences as diverse as the well-known participatory budgeting in Brazil, the “Mesas de Concertación” in Peru (type of regional roundtables), the “Auditorías Articuladas” in Colombia (practices of society-state partnerships for overseeing public contracting, the execution of public works or the accountability of state agencies), the “Consejos Gestores” in Brazil (public management councils for defining public policies in education and health), and the “Consejos Autogestivos” in México (self-management councils in protected zones), among many others, demonstrate that alternative forms of citizen politics (generally referred to as “citizen participation”) are possible. However, these experiences have yet to be proven over the long-term effect and are fairly limited geographically, as well as in terms of their cultural (and therefore political) influence. These limitations are due to the preliminary and exploratory nature of the democratic-participatory project. As well, the economic limitations imposed by the neoliberal economic policies that dominate the entire region generate obstacles for more profound democratic innovations.