Brazil: Mechanisms of Direct Democracy
In the structure of Brazilian Government, regarding both the executive as well as the executive powers, the increase in ways in which society can participate in decisions of public interest, stands out. Among the shared or participatory managerial policies implemented in Brazil, the following are noteworthy: the participatory budget, managerial councils, committees dealing with watersheds, thematic conferences, plebiscites, public meetings and referenda. However, if compared to the size of Brazil's territory and population, the experiences of participatory management are rare and have developed mainly in the southern and southeastern regions of the country. In most Brazilian municipalities, politics by patronage, authoritarian and populist, is the rule, linked to changes in the parties and to the electoral mandate (four years).