task. It is expressed through political participation, but also requires fighting poverty, struggling for the survival of the working class and facing the greater enemy, the traditional welfare and populist culture in the Latin American countries. " Decades of populism and political clienteles consolidated a supervised culture that favored neither the increased role nor the emancipation of the subordinates "( Oliveira, 2008, 37). Traditional populism and welfare hinder the exercise of democracy by the Afrodescendant communities. Both fragment the struggle and weaken the class consciousness, while reinforcing the lack of interest in accessing information and exerting social control over the state policies. Strengthening our democracy presupposes social and ethnic growth with popular awareness, control over the economic growth and representativeness in the decisionmaking spaces. " We intend to build an equitable development that ensures its benefits for all the social groups and not only for the upper strata. We pursue democratic development, so that all citizens can take part in multiple ways in the decisions that affect their lives "( Nogueira, 2004: 81). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights( 1948), the forms of social engagement and control, as well as the access to information were established by the haves per the bourgeois class logic. Hence, " the poor have only one way out to conquer rights and to gain visibility: achieving a leading role and advancing in their own organization. Because of the leading social role, the subaltern clusters can break with their subaltern condition and make their interests prevail”( Oliveira, 2008, 37).
Conclusions Analyzing different conceptions of democracy is closely related to political participation by the Afro-descendant population as a group excluded by the bourgeois State and the neoliberal project. It’ s also related to the participation and organization of the civil society in the public spaces for taking decisions. The Afro-descendant communities— and especially their social movement— need some training for an appropriate political participation that empowers them to defend their human rights and to exercise democracy through their citizens ' rights. The market and the bourgeois State make the Afro-descendant population believe that society is ruled by democratic means. They also seek— in the game of social forces— to displace any tendency contrary to their exploitation and domination interests. To achieve full democracy, the Afrodescendant movement must emphasize the democratic public culture open to recognition and the social and political struggle as a demand for a more inclusive society.
References BORON, Atilio A. Post Neoliberalism II: What State for What Democracy? Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Vozes. 1999. DAGNINO, Evelina. " Democratic Construction, Neoliberalism and Participation: The Dilemmas of the Perverse Confluence ", Santa Catarina: Revista Politica e Sociedade( UFSC), No. 5, pp. 139- 164. 2004 ESPING- ANDERSEN, Gosta. The Three Political Economies of the Welfare State. São Paulo: Lua Nova, No. 24. 1991. JELIN, Elizabeth; HERSHBERG, Eric. Building Democracy: Human Rights, Citizenship, and Society in Latin America. São Paulo: University of São Paulo( EDUSP). 2006. KEINET, Tania M. Public Administration in Brazil: Crises and Changes of Paradigms. São Paulo: Annablume. 2000. NOGUEIRA, Marco Aurelio. A State for Civil Society in Ethical and Political Issues of Democratic Management. São
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