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Specialized Journalistic Services (SJS)
Servicios Especializados de Información

°The Latin-Canadian Organization of Human Rights and Freedom of Expression
°Organización Latino-Canadiense de Derechos Humanos y Libertad de Expresión

According to a survey about participative democracy performed in Buenos Aires recently, 60%
of population does not feel included
in the current democratic system. This issue has several roots, from the lack

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By Florencia Larralde Armas / Seinforma Canada Correspondent

La Plata, Argentina.- According to an opinion poll carried out in the county of La Plata, capital city of the province of Buenos Aires, more than half of the people surveyed considers that another kind of democracy is possible, with social inclusion, with spaces of effective participation for the discussion and control when carrying out any public policy.
The research performed by the Center of Studies for the Community - CEC (in Spanish) - revealed some data about political representation and the lack of civic participation. The poll aimed at how the democratic system is perceived and the practice of citizenship, with the final goal of carrying out a global study of local policies, quality of life, as well as the relationship between public policies and their social effects.

   The results showed that 60% of the population does not feel represented by the current democratic system; among the most mentioned reasons, there are corruption, nor wealth distribution, and the feeling that it is not a true democracy.
   Taken literally from some surveyed people, “there can be a more open democracy, where the people may share their opinions better”.
   Another important figure indicates that citizens assume that there are other democratic ways, though they are unable to specify which: 64% does not think this democratic system is the only one possible.
   On the other hand, 44% of the people surveyed in the urban area believes that democracy is a suitable system to improve the quality of life and the same percentage of people do not know whether it is suitable or not. That is, there is some disagreement with how the democratic system is applied, but not with democratic ideals. Furthermore, they imagine a better system, even though they do not know it.

Civic participation
   As regards the civic participation spaces generated by the municipal government, just a minority was able to mention at least one. This lack of knowledge reaches 67%. However, almost 70% stated that it is possible to create these spaces, and were confident that those spaces would be satisfactory.
    Even when the current civic participation in popular or social organizations is virtually zero, since almost all of the surveyed people do not participate in any kind of NGO, and would not like to do so.
    This is not a paradox if we take into account the lack of representation and credibility that institutions suffer today; the frustrating experiences of many citizens who at some time did participate; and the extensive lack of compromise in people.

Access to public information
   In the CEC research one of the points aimed at the information question and the access to it by citizens. The first article of the provincial law 12475, gives every physical or juridical person who has a legitimate interest the right to access administrative documents.
   This rule, enacted in the year 2000, that could make the governmental measures more transparent and generate a better communication with society, does not have a real and effective application.
    Around 56% of the surveyed people said they knew about this law and right. However, only 24% made use at least once of their right asking for information to some government agency. To this we can add another consistent figure: 71.5% has never had any sort of contact with the Town Hall or the provincial Ministries. Of those people who did come to them a great majority did not get what they asked for.
   This issue has several roots, from the lack of information systematization and secrecy culture that comes from the years of the dictatorship, to the little dissemination of the right to access public information.

About the surveyer
   The Center of Studies for the Community (CEC)* is composed of university teachers and students from different disciplines, not enrolled in any political association.
   The opinion poll was carried out by the CEC within the frame of its Research/Action on Democratic Quality Program. The program started in March, 2007, and consists of carrying out, at a first stage, a public opinion poll and a juridical-political research that shows the “common sense”, i.e., the majority’s thinking about the satisfaction degree experienced from the current political system in force, based on a representative democracy, and the correlation of this “common sense” with the legal order proposed in the Town Hall as regards civic participation mechanisms.
*porlacomuna.org.ar

of information systematization and secrecy culture that comes from the years of the dictatorship, to the little dissemination of the right to access public information. (Photo Amlo-energytechstocks.com/Seinforma. -Carolina Lujan, Argentinean
International Master chess player and proud Latin American Olympic ace)

76% of the surveyed people has never made use of the access of public information right and 71.5% has never had any sort of contact with the Town Hall or the provincial Ministries neither.

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