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Participation as an Essential Element of an Active
Civil Society
Pedro Afonso del Pino
Jacques Maritain stated that the tragedy of modern democracies is that
they have not yet become a reality.
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He put forth a call to all democrats
that we would not forget that the best political system in the world is
imperfect, but perfectible. This perfection is possible as long as there
are constant efforts to rethink democracy, adapt it to the new demands
of our societies and continually improve it, maintaining respect for
human dignity and fundamentally, that of our communities.
In Latin America, democracy has developed considerably in the last
decades. The political geography once revealed that the majority of our
countries had dictatorial systems or were immersed in violent conflicts
with high costs to development. Today, the majority of Latin American
nations have democratic models that are continuously improving.
Unfortunately, the situation is not the same in all countries. The
notable exceptions include Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua
which have ever increasing deficiencies in their political systems.
In this brief article we analyze citizen participation as a fundamental
element of an active and efficient civil society, which can help strengthen
