Mapeando os grupos de interesse na Assembleia Legislativa da Paraíba.

Abstract

The representation of groups has been highlighted as an essential factor to be debated in the way polyarchies act, especially regarding their relationship with the public power. And such debates should not minimize this relevance in order to seek to understand and establish the possible forms of discussion and limits that are present in the bond between the represented and their representatives. The analysis of this link takes place through the dialogue between the State and organized civil society, since it is necessary to evaluate how the access between the individuals of society and the arenas of the political system is manifested. From this premise, it can be inferred that the mobilization of groups and the constitution of their interests are relevant indicators of pressure on public agents and encompass the dynamics of the democratic regime. In order to grasp this dynamic, two biases of participation are visualized: one related to the objective issue (indication of the means available for participation) and the other of substantial origin (to allow such actions to be considered by decision-makers and even to influence decisions). This paper proposes analyzes of these issues, based on the following objectives: to identify the groups that act in the Legislative Assembly of the state of Paraíba (ALPB); verify how participative they are from the records made in the minutes of the standing committees; classify the groups according to their area of expertise. To this end, the minutes of the ALPB Permanent Committees between 2016 and 2018 were analyzed. The mapping identified the headquarters of each one of them to assess whether the participation of such groups included entities from all over Paraiba. The analysis made use of descriptive methodology focusing on content analysis. We highlight which groups participate more assiduously in the activities of the Paraiban Legislature, as well as the preferred targets of action in pursuit of meeting their interests. It was concluded that the participation is still quite small, made by groups with better conditions and organizational capacity of its members. Regarding the territoria criterion, it was found that the participation is concentrated, with the groups coming practically only from the two largest economic centers of the state, the capital João Pessoa and the second largest municipality, Campina Grande.