Resumo

BRICENO, Héctor. Participación electoral y cultura política en Venezuela 1958-2007. CDC [online]. 2009, vol.26, n.72, pp.37-66. ISSN 1012-2508.

A review of the relationship between civic culture and electoral participation in Venezuela is the main objective of this paper. Starting with the analysis of the electoral statistics -the evolution of participation (progress and reverses) along the 1958-2007 democratic period-, the variables for an approach to the levels of participation/abstention as indicators of the functionality of the political system and legitimacy of democracy are identified in the binomial civic engagement-social mobilization. The main finding would be that as the contextual factors that promote participation decline, civic responsibility regarding participation in electoral processes is sustained by citizen engagement, that is, the level of commitment of the citizens with the democratic system.

Palavras-chave : Electoral participation; Democratic political culture; Social mobilization; Citizen engagement.