Disabled persons on the way to participatory democracy¹

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the social participation of disabled persons and the exercise of social control in the specific Organizations, Associations, Groups and Council of the segment. For this, the study builds a relationship between: understanding about disability, the issue of representativeness and the role of this segment in the struggle for rights and in the social control of public policies. And it brings as a key reading the conceptions of participatory democracy, social control; the different perspectives of understand the deficiency and the conceptions of Hannah Arendt for public and private space.

This is an exploratory study carried out with organizations OF and FOR disabled persons, through semi-structured interviews with coordinators and presidents; participant observation of meetings and assemblies; documentary research on municipal and national laws and decrees, municipal conferences on education, health and social assistance, statutes, folders, minutes and leaflets produced by the Organizations and through the construction of a field diary.

The results and discussions approach the reality of a specific municipality, however, are also marked by the national context of the struggle organized by the rights of disabled persons.

The social representations of disability, coupled with the dynamics of the functioning and management of the Organizations and the changes in the social movements formed in the streets, in the public and private spaces, present, at the same time, weaknesses and potentialities in the defense and strengthening of the participation of disabled persons in decision-making processes.

Keywords:
Social Participation; Disabled Persons; Handicapped Advocacy; Social Movements