The Meanings of Representation and Political Inclusion in the Conferences of Public Policies in Brazil

Abstract

Participatory Budgets, Public Policy Conferences and Public Policy Management Councils, among other participatory institutions in Brazil, are altering the con iguration of processes that de ine and elaborate public policies, while incorporating citizens and civil associations into political spaces where different mechanisms of participation and representation converge. These new institutions call for re lections concerning political inclusion and representation that go beyond electoral models. We propose to contribute to these debates by discussing the perceptions of some actors, in particular the leaders of civil society organizations, with regard to conferences' capacity for inclusion, and the meanings that they attribute to representation through conferences. The research indings allow us to identify a broadening of the idea of political inclusion and to highlight some of the tensions raised by demands for representation as presence in conference spaces.

Brazil, 40 Years of Struggles Over Political Legitimacy Through the Lenses of Representation

“…Brazilian scholars focused on the way representation was built, legitimised and pluralised beyond representative government (Almeida, 2009(Almeida, , 2014(Almeida, , 2015Avritzer, 2007;Borba & Lüchmann, 2010;Faria, 2007;Gurza Lavalle, 2008;Gurza Lavalle et al, 2006a, 2006bMartelli, Almeida, & Lüchmann, 2019;Mendonça, 2008). Gurza Lavalle and Isunza (2011) had a prominent role in claiming that researchers had to go beyond the literature on participation to make sense of what was going on in many of these forums.…”

Estrutura Institucional e Arquitetura Participativa em setores de políticas públicas

“…Não à toa, fala-se em "problema da efetividade" (AVRITZER, 2011) ou em "agenda da efetividade" (GURZA LAVALLE; VOIGT; SERAFIM, 2016) com produção considerável de pesquisas que têm abordado as "estratégias de avaliação" de diversos modos e ângulos (PIRES, 2011). Também pesquisadores têm avançado na compreensão de que há uma multiplicidade de sentidos para o termo efetividade e que ampliar o leque de significados implica aumentar as lentes analíticas na avaliação da efetividade das experiências participativas para a qualidade e/ ou o aprofundamento da democracia brasileira (ROMÃO; MARTELLI, 2013;ALMEIDA, 2017;ZORZAL;CARLOS, 2017;;ALMEIDA;LÜCHMANN, 2019;COELHO, 2021).…”