Fluxos de accountability e participação institucionalizada : um estudo de caso sobre a Câmara Municipal de Maringá

Abstract

Studies have identified the decline of public confidence in public institutions over the past 30 years, both in young democracies and consolidated. As critical to the dissatisfaction of citizens are listed political distrust and lack of participation in decision-making spheres. The national and international literature have pointed to accountability mechanisms in order to improve the quality of democracy and ensure its longevity. Against this backdrop, this study aimed to present a case study conducted in the city of Maringa (PR) which portrayed the political participation through the institutionalized pathways as a way to demand responsiveness of elected. The survey portrayed accountability flows triggered from encouraging institutionalized political participation in the City Council of Maringa, especially in the first two years of the 15th Legislature (2013-2016), at which time the House tried to approach the encouraging population citizen participation through institutional channels, mainly through road shows (regular sessions of CMM held in city neighborhoods) and public meetings to present the municipal budget (general, conducted in the districts and thematic performed in other public buildings). The rapprochement between elected and voters, which had as its motto increase the confidence index in the institution, as stated by the then President of the House at the time of the facts, resulted in the unleashing of vertical and horizontal accountability flows involving the executive, legislative, and prosecutors, with the change of pattern of relationships maintained between them earlier, mainly due to the legalization of relations.