Importance of Participatory Democracy

The most widespread form of government is the democracy representative. With this system, voters are summoned to the polls periodically to appoint their representatives, whether at the municipal, provincial or national level. The representative model is considered insufficient by some sectors of the society.

Critics of this model believe that authentic democracy is one that allows direct citizen participation.

The Athenian system in the V century BC. C and the cantonal of Switzerland are the two closest references to the ideal of participatory democracy

The Athenians understood that personal happiness could not be understood apart from the interests of the community. With this mentality they actively participated in the popular assemblies to discuss matters of public interest. Their decisions were the ones that served as the foundation for the elaboration of the laws.

In Switzerland citizens have two tools for participation: the binding referendum and the legislative initiative of the people. In recent years the Swiss have voted on issues of immigration, the social wage, the limitation of employers' wages or the

Participatory and representative democracy are complementary and should not be understood as opposing systems

The central axis of the participatory model is obviously the involvement of citizens in the decision making of a community. Thus, the direct vote of the citizen plays a decisive role in everything that concerns him, even in the great questions that affect his nation.

The participatory system should not be understood simply as a periodic voting procedure, since it is also about intervening in the management of the public through a series of mechanisms and channels of participation: the popular initiative from a number of signatures accredited, periodic consultations through the Internet so that citizens can express their opinion on certain matters of general interest, etc These and other systems are already legally recognized in many countries.

The mechanisms for participation in public life have several functions. On the one hand, they reinforce democracy as a form of government (a parliamentary system where there is no means of popular participation can degenerate into a democracy in which the voice of the people is only pronounced in each convocation electoral).

On the other hand, the intervention of citizens in decision-making can be an effective antidote to combat the different forms of corruption. policy (If the representatives of the people know that they are being watched by the people, they are less likely to be tempted to commit some kind of abuse of power).

Fotolia art: dalinas, bigmen