Access to power: clientelism and participative democracy, Undoing a dichotomy

Abstract

In this paper we present an interpretative possibility for the scarcely studied connections between mechanisms of democratic participation and assimetricclientelism exchanges, as well as partial results from an empirical analysis of participative forms in the local public administration, such as: legislative participation instruments, community councils and participative budget in three municipal districts of the State of Rio de Janeiro. If participation mechanisms depends some how upon authority resources to be accomplished, being subject, then, to a net of assimetric-clientelism exchanges, that exchange is only possible, however, in those democratic contexts where participation benefits are considered a value by the actors involved. Key words: Local public administration; Clientelism; Participative Democracy.