• - Social participation is the association of individuals to achieve certain objectives.[3][4].
• - Community participation is established in the field of assistance activities typical of the non-state world.[4].
• - Political participation refers to citizens who are part of social representation organizations and institutions of the political system.
• - Citizen participation is that where society has a direct relationship with the State;[5] a relationship that brings into play the public nature of state activity;[4] it is manifested through NGOs which fight (fight or confrontation, especially of an ideological nature) for certain social issues, without replacing the functions of the government but evaluating, questioning or supporting the decisions made (see: lobbying). It can also be proposed through the discussion of issues of importance to citizens in organized forums or through other means to reach consensus.[3].
The difference between citizen participation and community and social participation is that although the last two speak of a special type of interaction between society and the state, their objectives have a focus on the social level. In the case of citizen participation, this originates and unfolds at the social and state level.
The aim is to encourage new generations to participate each time, since the participation of citizens, whether social, political, community or citizen, is of utmost importance because in this way the type of society and coexistence that will exist among citizens is established. In addition to this, through participation, significant changes can be achieved in favor of all citizens.[6].
According to Abel Pérez Rojas, social participation is a "continuous training process through which people learn to solve their social problems and in turn progress in their own educational processes."[1].
The majority of the young population does not want to get involved in electoral participation because they do not believe that the institutions are trustworthy. Results of a study in the state of Mexico showed that around 60% of Mexican youth think that it is worth going to vote, while the remainder focused on the options "it is not worth going to vote" (25%), "it depends" (8.5%), with the remaining percentage being "don't know" and "did not answer".[7]
However, to promote a good exercise of citizen participation it is important to include the child population, because it fosters values of coexistence and free dialogue in the environment where it takes place, promoting values of equity, respect and tolerance in adult society. In this way, it becomes a habit that must be developed throughout our lives to contribute to social action. For example: In recent years Chile has encouraged child participation through participatory processes used as input for the design of the National Children's Policy[8].
Lately, state agencies form citizen councils for the administration or evaluation of public policies, made up of interested citizens and independent experts.
In contemporary democratic theory, citizen participation has the function of moderating or influencing the exercise of political power from the structure of the State through the expression of preferences and demands of the various sectors of society.[9][10].
The objective of citizen participation is to achieve a more democratic, inclusive and representative society of citizens. It is also important to ensure the participation of society to guarantee fair and effective processes of transparency and accountability. Disagreement with democratic decisions or processes can lead to a search for new forms of participation, which creates an environment that is more representative of society.[11].
Citizen participation is associated with mechanisms of direct democracy, for example bill initiative, referendum, plebiscite, public consultation, revocation of mandate,[12] as well as the integration of citizen councils in public organizations for the design or reorientation of public policies. Political participation, on the other hand, is related to the involvement of citizens in the formal structures of access and control of the positions of power of the State (political parties, elections, integration of the legislative power, contest for executive power). The fundamental difference between citizen participation and political participation is that the former seeks to influence public decision-making, while the latter seeks mechanisms for access to State control.
It is important to know a little more in depth about some of the mechanisms that are accepted by the law mentioned above.
• - Bill or popular initiative.- The power that citizens have to present proposals to the legislative branch, whose purpose is the repeal, addition or regulation of a particular law.
• - Referendum.- It is a consultation carried out through a vote where the approval or rejection of legal, regulatory or constitutional texts is sought. Likewise, voters can be summoned in order to approve, modify, add or reject any proposed law.[13].
• - Plebiscite.- It is defined as a direct consultation of citizens on political matters of great importance, whether accepting or rejecting a proposal that, due to the legitimacy that is needed, it is necessary to consult the people.
Some authors consider that the conditions for citizen participation are:[14][15].
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- Respect for the rule of law.
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- Access to institutional mechanisms.
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- Citizens' trust in democratic institutions.
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- Interest on the part of public and government institutions towards the population.
Citizen participation instruments contribute to democracy through the expected effects of:[12].
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- Improve the relationship between rulers and governed.
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- Strengthen the representative and participatory democratic system.
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- Guarantee political and human rights.
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- Legitimize government decisions.
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- Consolidate governance, that is, ensure that government and society act together.
The participation of citizens in public decisions individually or collectively (e.g. through civil society organizations) cannot claim the legitimate representation of all the citizens of a political community, only "that of certain material, programmatic, or ideological interests of the participating actors, who can only appeal to a symbolic representation of causes or general interests when intervening in the public sphere."[16].
When institutional mechanisms are not found that allow the interaction between citizen demands and decision-making by the State, political actors can generate a legitimacy problem from the perspective of civil or citizen actors, since they do not have certainty or adequate channels in the interaction with the decision-making forms of formal political power.
It is very important to establish goals and values for a group when carrying out citizen participation collectively. Otherwise, negative citizen participation would be exercised. If the group's values are democratic, politically correct oriented, and tolerant of others then group members will learn democratically correct values and become politically active as a benefit to the group. However, if the group adopts an undemocratic stance, putting politics aside and being intolerant towards other people, this group will probably be disengaged from the political system.[17].