Resumen

HERNANDEZ DE VELAZCO, Judith Josefina. Public Decision Making from the Perspective of the Technocratic Process and Citizen Participation: The Case of Venezuela. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia [online]. 2007, vol.12, n.40, pp.553-571. ISSN 1315-9984.

Public management involves planning and decision making with the objective of satisfying society’s needs. Decisions pass through a specific process depending on the administrative paradigm in practice; the case of Venezuela has been characterized by the adjustment of business models to the public context, from whence the technocratic process with its respective action devices have been imported. On the other hand, under the 1999 Constitution, new public management strategies have been defined that include citizen participation. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the divergences that exist for the municipal decision-making process from the perspectives of technocratic phenomenon and citizen participation. Methodology consisted of bibliographic research and research about regulations; registry of the information; and analytical and critical synthesis of the compiled information. Analysis led to the conclusions that public management is subject to a rational economic domination that restricts citizen participation, among other things, according to what was found in both positions in terms of their aims and objectives. Consequently, mechanisms for social effectiveness should be sought to create public administration that is mutually agreed on, supportive and united, in which citizens are included with the support of municipal governments.

Palabras clave : Public management; decision making; technocratic process; citizen participation; municipality.