Dimensiones de la participación ciudadana en el ámbito local. Estudio de caso. La Región de Murcia.

Résumé

This article aims to describe the dynamics that influence citizen intervention in the local public administration in the Region of Murcia. It takes into consideration all the variables that may affect the level of participatory intensity, such as the size of municipalities, the ideology of their governments, or the associative structure that has developed within them. From the perspective of the individuals involved in citizen participation (politicians, public officials, and the citizenry), there is a need to establish a new system of relations that enhances governance and restores legitimacy in the decisions made within the institutional sphere as a strategy to provide greater stability to the political system. Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored that redefining the world of relationships entails generating new tensions and conflicts related to power, yet some argue that implementing participatory mechanisms and channelling social discontent or societal demands serves, in a way, to silence those existing conflicts.