Democracia por procuração: o abismo entre o ideal do "governo do povo" e a realidade minimalista da plutocracia parlamentar no Brasil

Abstract

This doctoral thesis aims to analyze the performance of the Participatory Legislation Commission of the National Congress of Brazil. To this end, it delves into a thorough theoretical discussion on the concept of democracy, highlighting a gap between the etymological conception of democracy understood as “government of the people” and its minimalist materialization in contemporary Western societies, marked by a crisis of political representation. Anchored in anarchist theoretical frameworks and through systematic bibliographic research, the analysis unveils the mechanisms of democratic containment inherent to the liberal system, characterized as a plutocratic regime, which, through proxy governments and democratic brakes, seek to distance the people from the effective exercise of power. Using the comparative history methodology, we aim to confront the perspectives of classical authors, defenders of the representative model, with the contributions of counterhegemonic thinkers who propose a radically participatory and popular democracy. As specific objectives, we seek not only to highlight the limitations of the liberal paradigm but also to explore alternatives to strengthen citizens’ effective participation in political decisions, as well as to present reflections on possible paths toward a more participatory and inclusive democracy grounded in the libertarian premises of equality and freedom.