LOCAL DEVELOPMENT, PARTICIPATION AND CHANGE

Abstract

Participatory local development is increasingly presented as a tool overcome the effects of vulnerability, exclusion and impoverishment that have resulted from the concentration of wealth in the hands of powerful groups who are able to influence and orient the economy and the life of the planet. However, in order to effectively contribute to change, certain conceptual ambiguities need to be addressed because these risk neutralizing its huge potential, to clarify the meaning and utilization of the words “development”, “local” and “participation”. In this article, the author shows how the word “local” can refer to different political visions – here defined as authoritarian, participatory and critical – and proposes a definition that best contributes to change.

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