Citizen participation for senior citizens as a mechanism to demand rights

Abstract

Citizen participation is a right; in democratic societies it is a duty as well that is not limited exclusively to exercising the right to vote. Instead, it transcends accountability and decision-making situations. These situations should be appropriate for senior citizens, organizations and institutions that work with that population to enforce their rights in consulting and co-creation processes by the Government and based on a vision of co-responsibility between the citizens and the State. Even so, there are limitations on exercising the right to participate: the overruling neoliberal mode and the advocacy process may turn out to be slow, the meeting schedules, frequency, resources or place, the anti–human rights organization or disguised spaces for participation and construction when they are solely informative, a reduced percentage of people who are active in participating at the decision-making and belligerence level. Participation makes it possible to exercise citizenship in a democracy and is able to turn the stereotypical image of old age and aging that brings about exclusion and violence into a problem; however, this is an issue that involves everybody and also identifies multiple types of discrimination, due to age or any other condition. Reflection on the importance of focusing on the life time should be promoted along with other sectors and groups to democratize the information at all levels and to develop socio-educational strategies for socialization, and to decentralize the contents and the transparency of actions.