Educação, voto e participação como instrumentos de aprimoramento da democracia

Abstract

For solidification of democracy, individual and group should be aware of their role as a citizen to exercise full political life. The awareness that there are rights that should be protected is fundamental to citizenship becomes effective. Knowing that the process of awareness of entitlements and duties that must be met not happen naturally, being the result of historical human action, it can be said that education is the one responsible for what can be considered a positive cycle of democratic experience. Education is a key to two pillars of democracy, voting and participation, properly functioning mechanism. The full exercise of voting, without any participation causes a low intensity democracy, the other hand, the participation without the vote injures the right of citizens to enforce their expressions and policy positions in the channels formally established, the vote (Avritzer 2007). The proper exercise of democracy, which is the result of awareness of rights and duties, collectively process is only meaningful if the full exercise of citizenship is effective in the everyday life of the individual. Thus, participation and the right to vote go together in the process of improvement of citizenship and democracy, forming, along with education, the tripod to representative and participatory democracy quality.