Citizen participation as a mechanism for the exercise of human rights

Abstract

This article addresses the scope of the right to citizen participation contained in the jurisprudence of the Inter-American System and analyzes the partition mechanisms incorporated in the Ecuadorian State. The objective of this article is to analyze the scope of citizen participation as a right and the constitutional mechanisms available in Ecuador since the 2008 reform. The research is developed from the analytical methodology, as it aims to perform an inductive analysis to describe and understand the variables presented and is qualitative in nature. The research questions guiding the elaboration of this research are: What are the scope and inter-American standards for the protection of the right to participation? And what are the mechanisms of participation recognized in the Ecuadorian constitution of 2008? From the analysis carried out, it has been determined that although the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court addresses citizen participation as a mechanism of participatory democracy that tends to establish similarities with direct democracy, the Ecuadorian Constitution and in particular the Organic Law of Citizen Participation clearly establishes different types of mechanisms for the exercise of this right, being the broadest and most specific national legislation with respect to this right.