Public management and pitizen participation in La Plata's city council

Abstract

This proyect rises the dificlutties and challeges, that political power and society have faced because of the implimetation of the new technologies on territorial management, which started to be developed togerther with the State Reform of the nineties. This study is carried through the analysis of two basic tools by the State Modernization Plan and called upon to participate by the City Council: the Participative Budget and the Strategic Plan. The analysis of these experiences allows us to observe, on the one hand, to what extent political power yields power spaces to the citizenship with absolute conviction; and, on the other hand, the level of presence and commitment that the society undertakes when participating in these spaces open to all the actors who, with different interests, are involved in the construction of the city. Whit the outcome of both expiriences the opportunity to give rise to a deeper change in the city management and the prospects for dealing with the demands arisen from agreements reached by the community are missed. Finally, it is deemed necessary to build up a more persevering and firmer attitude on the part of the society which may allow it to reach participative levels in those sectors of management where public policies, which directly affect it, are both planned and executed.