Resumo

ORTIZ SANDOVAL, Luis. Democracia sin ciudadanos: crítica de la teoría de la transición. Perf. latinoam. [online]. 2006, vol.13, n.28, pp.263-277. ISSN 0188-7653.

The hypothesis that the democratic forms based on the theory of "polyarchy" guarantee the processes of democratic transition in Latin America, is abstract. The continuity of the social structures of inequality in the region, demonstrates that the construction of democratic institutions is a mere pretence to "play according to the rules of the game" and establish by decree the participation of men and women through "free elections" in places in which people are not free no can they choose. This essay proposes that the question to consider is the social construction of citizenship: a still not concluded process, but becomes a condition of possibility for democracy itself. On the basis of the Paraguayan experience, it can be shown that collective actions do not necessarily point to the creation of conditions of access to citizenship, but rather to an earlier goal: the social inclusion of the lower classes.

Palavras-chave : political theory of transition; ideology; social conditions of democracy; hegemony construction of citizenship.