The Reform of the Law of Participation in Colombia. An Experience of Democratic Governance

Abstract

The Colombian government agreed in 2010 to consult civil society about the content of a new law of citizen participation. Thus began a dialogue between the public, the government and the Congress, which resulted in the formulation of a bill, passed in June 2012. What was the role of civil society in the process? Can we talk about this experience as a process of participatory governance? This article presents an account of the events that framed the dialogue between the State and civil society, shows the evolution of the project and examine the scope of the participation from the concepts of governance and citizen participation. We analyze the scope of the latter through the concept of democratic cube proposed by Archon Fung.