Participatory illusion: the study of the Swiss experience in order to understand the causes of the ineffectiveness of the plebiscite and referendum instruments in Brazil

This research aims to analyze the main obstacles to the consolidation of the participatory instruments of the plebiscite and the referendum in the Brazilian reality, from the comparison with the mechanisms of direct deliberation instituted in Switzerland. Having as an option the qualitative research...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Costa, Rosalina Moitta Pinto da, Senna, Carina Cátia Bastos de, Pereira, José Alberto Pinto da Costa Rodrigues
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2022
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Itajubá (UNIFEI)
Repository:Research, Society and Development
Language:Portuguese
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/35369
Online Access:https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/35369
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Participatory democracy
Plebiscite
Referendum.
Democracia participativa
Plebiscito
Referéndum.
Referendo.
Description
Summary:This research aims to analyze the main obstacles to the consolidation of the participatory instruments of the plebiscite and the referendum in the Brazilian reality, from the comparison with the mechanisms of direct deliberation instituted in Switzerland. Having as an option the qualitative research with comparative analysis and bibliographic research, this work examines, at first, the plebiscite and referendum institutes in Brazil, in a theoretical perspective - with the study of its normative forecast - and practice - with the investigation of its effective use at the national level since the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution. Next, the Swiss participatory model is analyzed, with emphasis on its structuring and its functioning, in order to understand, in the light of a comparative analysis, the reasons for the ineffectiveness of direct participation instruments in Brazil. Finally, the three obstacles that distance the Brazilian model from the Swiss one and result in the ineffectiveness of the plebiscite and the referendum in the South American country are evaluated: the lack of normative regulation, the restriction of the initiative and the absence of thematic specification.