Desafios para articular representação política e participação social: um estudo do Conselho Municipal de Meio Ambiente do Rio de Janeiro

The paper analyzes the main barriers faced by representatives of civil society on the relationship between political representation and social participation when they need to deliberate in the Municipal Council of the Environment of Rio de Janeiro (CONSEMAC). The initial assumption of the research was that the main barriers faced by civil society regarding the deliberation on CONSEMAC are related to the tension between the performance of non-State actors and the representatives of the State due to the very condition of each part in the Council. The research results indicate that there are critical situations still little studied within the councils, regarding deliberation, which are possible to be identified with the deepening the understanding of the relationship between the main perspectives of the democratic theory.   Keywords: social participation, deliberation, democratic theory, public policy management councils, political representation.