representative democracy or indirect democracy is a Form of government wherein people elect representatives who can defend, manage, establish and execute all interests of the population.
The main basis of representative democracy is direct voting, that is, the means by which the population can to appreciate all the candidates for representatives of the people and to choose those they consider most suitable for represent them.
Representatives elected through voting may be councilors, state representatives, state representatives, senators, governors, and so on. Theoretically, the function of the people who were elected is to represent the rights and interests of those who elected them, however, many examples of democratic systems around the world show that the relationship between representatives and the population is very questionable.
In its etymological sense, democracy is a model of government in which sovereignty is exercised by the people. In this context, the entire population has the right to express their opinion when electing one of the available representatives.
Learn more about the meaning of Democracy.
However, for the efficiency of the representative democratic regime, all people who hold public positions in the Legislative and Power Executive and that have been elected by the people, must be constantly renewed, that is, fixed periods are stipulated so that there are new elections.
Representative and direct democracy
Democracy is representative or indirect when the people elect, through direct vote, representatives who can hold public positions and who meet in discussion spaces, such as the Parliament, Chambers, Congress, etc., with the objective of debating issues of interest to the population in general.
The call direct democracy or pure democracy, in turn, is when each citizen has their direct participation in the choices and decisions of their interest. This model of democracy works in small communities, where the population is not very large. otherwise, it would make it difficult to account for the votes or the discussion so that they can reach a concession on the common.
Learn more about direct democracy.
Representative democracy in Brazil
Brazil is a country that is governed under the regime of representative democracy, with mandatory voting. Brazilian citizens are required to vote for the representatives they deem most suitable to represent them. If the citizen does not want to vote, he/she must justify not attending the ballot boxes, with the risk of paying fines or being restricted in some civil rights, such as participating in contests public.
As Brazil is a democratic republic, the population elects the main representatives who, in addition to the President of the Republic, are formed by governors, senators, deputies, councilors, mayors and etc.
participatory democracy
As an alternative to the crisis found in some examples of representative democracy, where elected representatives of the people cannot cover all the needs of the population, the concept was born gives participatory democracy or semi-direct democracy.
Participatory democracy develops from representative democracy, being a model that makes citizens interfere in some political issues more actively, through referendums, plebiscites, public hearings and etc.
The main objective of participatory democracy is to make all varieties of social groups that coexist within of the same community can be heard and, consequently, that actions be developed to meet the needs of all.
Brazil can be considered a representative and participatory democracy, as it promotes public hearings and referendums to decide some of the main issues of interest to the population.
See also the meaning of Representativeness and the difference between democracy and dictatorship.