The national conference of cities as an instrument of public policies for territorial development: the perception of councilors in participatory and deliberative procedures

Abstract

Studies in social management and territorial development advocate for the expansion of dialogical relations between civil society, State, and market in deliberative procedures concerning the public sphere. In this sense, municipal councils and conferences of cities, which are the object of analysis in this article, arise among other instruments, in order to legitimize participatory procedures in public policies. Thus, this article aims to verify the perception of councilors and delegates attending the conferences of cities on the deliberative ability of municipal councils in conducting public policies. This objective is justified in face of the growing popular manifestations that occurred in Brazil in 2013, crying out for participatory democracy and changes on the conduction of public policies. To prepare this research, many actions were taken, with an emphasis on field survey, participation in conferences, mediation of debates, and collection of testimonials. We applied 102 questionnaires among the municipal councilors during the State and National Conferences of Cities, held, respectively, in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, in 2013. The results point out contradictions between the perception of councilors on local problems and their actual ability to intervene with deliberations by local public authorities. That is, they have great knowledge about the problems in the locations they represent, but a low deliberative ability.

Keywords:
Social management; Municipal councils; Local development