The limits of participatory democracy and the inclusion of social movements in local government

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the decentralisation of decision-making processes in local government. Empirically, I analyse how Brazilian housing movements are included in participatory processes by examining the ways in which participatory models integrate social movements in spaces of decision-making. I argue that the rules and focus on incremental policy-making limits the participation of social movements. Findings suggests that unequal power structures at local councils, barriers to the participation of citizens, and the lack of transparency of government decisions all prevent social movements from having a more influential voice in decision-making. Although previous studies in Brazil examined the integration of citizens in government institutions, this paper contributes to the literature in two ways: firstly, it provides new evidence on the impact of decentralisation in local government. Secondly, by examining the attitudes of housing council members towards popular political participation, it provides new insights into the limits of decentralisation and participatory governance in contemporary Brazil.

KEYWORDS:

• Social movements
• housing
• participatory democracy
• local government
• decentralization

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. In this sense, there is no relation between the creation of the council in Maracanau and the political party in power at the local level: the national legislation in place influenced the creation of the council. The council was created and fully operational in 2007.

2. Information from meeting minutes. Out of 16 meeting minutes, seven of them consisted of public officials informing the plenary of their plans for housing projects. For example, in the minutes of a meeting on 05.07.2011 (page 1, line 14–18) representatives of the infrastructure secretariat showed a set of slides on government plans for a housing project renovation on the southeast side of the municipality. There was no discussion or debate about the proposal. The meeting then moved on to another topic. In another meeting (16.10.12, page 1, 24–29) when the plenary started to make questions about the project being presented, the person writing the meeting minutes stated that most of the questions coming from the plenary were not related to the topic under discussion.

3. Personal interview conducted in August 2014.

4. Personal Interview conducted in August 2014.

5. Minutes of a meeting on 14.11.2012, and on 11.02.2013.

6. Names were changed to preserve anonymity.

7. Interview conducted in September 2014.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Irish Research Council [GOIPG2014/236].

Notes on contributors

Valesca Lima

Valesca Lima is Dr Valesca Lima is a postdoctoral research fellow at Maynooth University. Her research topics include local government, citizenship and comparative housing policies.