EL ESTADO VENEZOLANO Y LA PARTICIPACIÓN CIUDADANA.

The purpose of this study is to explore themanner in which the Venezuelan State promotes, defines and creates mechanisms of citizen participation. In this vein, a review of literature on national and sub-national norms was undertaken, as well as on certain theoretical approaches to this theme.The results reveal that the Venezuelan State managed the concept of citizen participation, during the stage of representative democracy, according to the needs of political legitimacy, creating formal mechanisms that limited community initiatives. This situation has been modified with the approval the new Venezuelan Bolivarian Constitution (CBV) in 1999, which promotes the intervention and protagonism of organized communities in public management. The conclusion is that citizen participation in Venezuela is a constitutional postulate, and is to be incorporated into different governmental and administrative management levels. This will permit social organizations to become fundamental actors in the societal project in which equity and social justice prevail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]