EL THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF QUARTERS V (1986-1989): LESSONS LEARNED FROM AN EXPERIENCE IN CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

Abstract

In late 1986, activists from the “Peronist renewal” movement launched what they called the “Community Council” in Moreno, Buenos Aires Province. This initiative aimed to bring together different neighborhood organizations to discuss common problems and find solutions. Cuartel V was the only town in the Moreno district where this idea became a reality, achieving a collaboration between social organizations and the State that led to an improvement in the quality of life for the town's residents.

In this article, I gather the voices of the key figures involved to systematize the process of formation, development, and conclusion of this initiative. Based on this analysis, I reflect on the potential, limitations, and challenges of citizen participation processes that occur between grassroots civil society (Rofman, 2019) and the State.