Definition of Popular Initiative
Miscellanea / / November 13, 2021
By Cecilia Bembibre, in Ago. 2013
We understand by popular initiative that instance in which the people can sovereignly present a proposal of legislation that is dealt with in the corresponding legislative body and that may eventually become law.
The notion of popular initiative is relatively recent in the field of politics if we consider that politics became a right popular in the last centuries and really since then the people can participate in different instances. It is clear that in a democratic system the main instance of participation it is the suffrage or vote when there are elections, but then other less known but no less important options are on the way. The popular initiative is one of them and its main objective is that the different sectors of society can present bills to the legislative bodies so that they can try. In many cases, these proposals tend to have to do with the direct needs of the people or sector in question that are not being taken into account or addressed by the different branches of the government. government.
The requirements for presentation of a popular initiative vary a lot according to the region or country that determines them, but in most cases it has to be validated with a minimum number of signatures that prove that it is not a particular or individual project but that it is something that concerns a great part of the population. In other cases, some countries have limits on the topics or areas on which you can present a project of this type and this is when, for example, it deals with problems such as the budget, the Constitution, the powers of the State, etc.
In general, there are not many popular initiatives that reach the legislative bodies since they require a large number of adhesions and also must avoid the possible games that are carried out within the legislative body in question that prevents it from becoming treated. In addition, it is very common for this type of popular initiatives to have to do with social, economic or cultural issues that directly affect the people.
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