Identifier: TDX:1461
Authors: Haro Encinas, Jesus Armando
Abstract:
The main purpose of the present work is to explore a field of interaction which, although poorly defined and perhaps ambiguous because of growing importance to current political praxis: citizen participation in local public government. The study deals specifically with relationships, means and channels, and links between interacting actors and sectors. The political class, the technical and administrative personnel of the Ajuntament or municipality, the variety of civil associations and the non-organized citizens are the protagonists of this study. They are the local actors that shape public life in Reus, a city that hosts almost the entire population of the municipality of the same name, located in the south of Catalonian and, therefore, within the political influence of Spain and the European Union, which remains strong over the local level. It is also a place where public participation still has special importance due to a very rich local history of commitment and participation of the people of Reus in political and public life beyond the local level.The thesis contains seven thematic chapters and a conclusion, followed by the bibliography. The first chapter discusses the theoretical and methodological issues related to our study, reviewing some contributions from anthropological visions to the study of the political, followed by the methodological aspects of our work in terms of time and ethnographic techniques. The second chapter consist of a necessary theoretical reflection on the subject of participation, the historical evolution of concepts and terms such as public space, the nature of citizenship, and changes in the idea of democracy, all within the European context and paying special attention to the implications that issues of participation have in actuality considering, among others, the emergence of the 'glocal', which alludes to how far external influences act on local levels, including the political arena. The third chapter, which refers more directly to our case study, explores the historical roots of political power in Reus, from ancient times to the present, and explores the special situation of this city as a municipality within Spain and Catalonia. The particularities of the current Spanish political system are the topic of the fourth chapter, focusing on the repartition of competences between the different levels that compose it, in the model of the 'Estado de las Autonomías'.The fifth chapter ('En nom de la Rosa'), offers a general assessment of the city of Reus from an ethnographic perspective, it also includes an overviewof its basic urban and demographical issues, the economics of the city and the political behaviour of its habitants. The sixth chapter ('Desde la Plaga del Mercadal'), presents a panoramic review of the current organization within the public government at the local level in the Ajuntament de Reus, stressing aspects related to issues of participation. The seventh chapter summarizes the viewpoints of organized and non-organized citizens, describing the associative world of citizens in Reus, and their expectations regarding the possibilities of participating in the management of public interests from the municipal gooovernment. Finally, the eighth and final chapter presents some conclusions derived from our study, in the form of reflections and recommendations or considerations for the implementation of participative experiences at the local level.
Repositori URV