This article seeks to analyze the relational pattern that the Lula government has maintained with movements and organizations of civil society (OSCs) in the period spanning 2003 to 2006. Its goal is to inquire as to whether and what kind of opportunities were created for the establishment of a "positive synergy" between State and civil society during this period. We start from the hypothesis that the creation of new participatory spaces, although an important condition to guarantee a truly inclusive dynamic, is in and of itself insufficient. Our analysis shows that notwithstanding the fact that the Lula government created a new pact with organized civil society through the creation, widening and institutionalization of new participatory spaces, this practice did not become a government policy that rallied majority support. Thus, the efforts that have been carried out for constructing and perfecting the participation of civil society organizations in Lula administration public policies have become marginal and selective, and thus undermine the inclusive potential that they themselves could be generating.
State; civil society organizations; participation; Lula administration
