La silla vacía como mecanismo de participación ciudadana en el Ecuador.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to carry out a study through which the empty chair mechanism is analyzed as a tool that is intended to promote citizen participation and the democratic representation of citizens within the sessions of the different forms of Autonomous Governments. Decentralized in Ecuador. Therefore, it can be seen as antecedent that the empty chair has represented a highly discussed mechanism of citizen participation. This situation reflects as a research problem that the empty chair would not be adequately occupied by citizens, which is due to the fact that the current legal framework does not allow an adequate development of its purposes, not only in terms of representation but also in contributing to the improvement the quality of life of the inhabitants of the community. In fact, the objective of this study is oriented to carry out an analysis of the procedure and the effectiveness of the occupation of the empty chair, at the same time as establishing alternatives or solutions so that its exercise provides better results. This implies the design of a qualitative investigation, where the study of the doctrine, legal norms, empty chair procedures and interviews allow to recognize the conditions of their occupation and their results. This investigation offers as a main result that the empty chair would not fulfill the due purposes as a result of aspects not contemplated in the law, as well as the lack of democratic commitment of the authorities and officials of the Decentralized Autonomous Governments.