Alignment of preferences on bills at Joinville City Council: an empirical analysis

Abstract

This article proposes to discuss the participation of entrepreneurs in the Council of the City of Joinville (SC), having as object of research how these agents voted the bills that this body evaluated between the periods of 2017 to 2022. Materials and Methods: the draft laws submitted to its assessment were identified, and the positions of the entrepreneurs and the municipal government were identified. An index was established to catalog their positions, and to identify conflicts between the preferences of the business representation and of the city hall. Results: an analysis of the voting in 81 bills discussed during this period showed that businessmen rarely had preferences that were antagonistic to those of the city hall (11% of the cases). However, the lack of recorded roll-call votes hampered this identification in 54% of cases. Discussion: the business participation in an advisory body for urban planning reflects the importance given by these agents to a structure of participatory democracy. However, the lack of transparency in the discussions that have taken place encourages low social participation by society that does not participate as advisors. Thus, it is argued that the proposed institutional design weakens the participation of more vulnerable social strata.