As instituições participativas brasileiras foram analisadas por uma densa literatura que estudou os projetos subjacentes a essas mesmas instituições, o engajamento dos cidadãos e os efeitos variáveis da participação sobre o campo político. Porém, a literatura pouco questionou o papel dos profissionais da participação, ou seja a atuação dos atores específicos que são pagos para conceber, organizar e facilitar as instituições participativas. Este artigo, baseado numa metodologia qualitativa, propõe uma tipologia dos organizadores das instituições participativas no Brasil. A hipótese desenvolvida é que esses atores têm um papel fundamental na delimitação do que significa participar e dos públicos legítimos nas instituições participativas. Ao privilegiar certos perfis de cidadãos, algumas ferramentas ou alguns comportamentos sobre outros, estes atores podem dar às instituições participativas um escopo transformador ou pelo contrário, defini-los como uma simples consulta dos cidadãos.

Participatory devices in Brazil have been analyzed in a dense literature examining the ambivalent projects pursued through citizen participation, the involvement of citizens in these projects and their varying effects on public policy or the political sphere. What is lacking is an in-depth analysis of the role of public participation professionals (PPPs) in Brazil, namely, the specific actors who are paid to design, implement or facilitate participatory forums. This article uses a qualitative methodology to develop a typology of organizers of some Brazilian participatory mechanisms, by studying their trajectory and conceptions of participation they support. Its aim is to show that these actors are central in defining how citizens should participate and who is part of the legitimate audience. Therefore, PPPs play a major role in reinforcing the transformative scope of a device or, on the contrary, in limiting it to a simple consultation of citizens, through the audience rallied, the tool(s) they choose or the meaning they give to participation.

Les dispositifs participatifs brésiliens ont été analysés par une vaste littérature qui a mis en évidence la diversité des projets poursuivis, les motifs de l’engagement des citoyens et les effets de la participation sur le champ politique. Toutefois, peu de travaux interrogent le rôle joué par les professionnels de la participation, c’est-à-dire les d’acteurs qui définissent, mettent en œuvre et facilitent les assemblées participatives. Cet article présente une typologie des organisateurs de la démocratie participative au Brésil, en se fondant sur une méthodologie qualitative. Il montre que ces acteurs secondaires qui traduisent et mettent en œuvre les projets définis par les élus jouent un rôle de premier plan dans la délimitation de ce que participer veut dire et des publics légitimes. En privilégiant certains comportements, certains outils ou certains acteurs, ces professionnels peuvent renforcer la portée transformatrice des dispositifs participatifs ou au contraire, les restreindre à de simples outils de communication institutionnels.

The rise of participatory democracy has often been explained by the renewal of collective action in Europe and Latin America. This review essay questions the 'movement-based' genesis of Brazilian participatory democracy by analyzing the idea of the state upon which it rests. It argues that the focus on social movements falls short of explaining the spread of participatory experiments, and that it rests on a simplified understanding of the dynamics of the Brazilian State prior to the 1980s. The argument is developed along three axes. First, the essay analyses how the 'classics' of Brazilian political sociology framed the early studies on participatory democracy. Second, it shows that even if the unifying notion of the state has been challenged, progress has focussed on the study of the democratic period. Third, it presents evidence that participation, as a practical category, was an integral part of the military regime's discourse and practice. Finally, the essay defines lines of investigation to reconsider the origins of participatory democracy in Brazil.