Deliberative Democracy, Poverty and Political Participation

Abstract

This article analyzes, taking as an empirical reference the experiences of the Participative Budget, the capacity of political inclusion of the poorer sectors of the population within these experiences. It therefore questions, from a brief analysis of the reasons behind the incorporation and growth of the literature concerning the subject of the deliberative democracy in Brazil, the opinions anchored on the perception of our profound social inequalities, affirming that such a democracy is impossible. It is concluded that the inclusion of the poorer population within the participative spaces, apart from all the difficulties and risks, instead of signifying a threat to the deliberative democracy, is in fact a sine qua non condition to itself. Keywords: deliberative democracy; political inclusion; poverty; participation.